FPCUG Notes for May 2021 Editor: Frank Fota ([email protected])
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FPCUG Notes for May 2021 Editor: Frank Fota ([email protected]) SCHEDULE OF EVENTS (7:00 PM - Falmouth Firehouse, Butler Road): The Board of Directors met via the Zoom video teleconference app on April 13th, 2021. In-person meetings/Workshops will soon resume; subject to State and CDC guidelines. -- Thurs, May 6: All About Your Computer (Robert Monroe) – Zoom Virtual Meeting. Send your computer questions in advance to Robert at [email protected]. A link for the Zoom Workshop will be sent by email to FPCUG members. -- Tues, May 11: FPCUG Board of Directors Meeting (Zoom Virtual Meeting). -- Thurs, May 13: General Meeting (Zoom Virtual Meeting). Judy Taylour, President, Editor, and Webmaster of the Santa Clarita Valley Computer Club; Member, APCUG Speakers Bureau, will present, “Ergonomics: You, Your Computer, Tablet, and Smartphone.” Sit straight! Shoulders rounded! Arms relaxed! Feet on the floor! Wrists/hands floating! Cumulative trauma! Repetitive stress syndrome! We have all been using technology for many years; are we still practicing good ergonomics? Or, are we stressing our bodies every day without realizing it by extending our wrists, slouching, sitting without foot support, and bending our head to look at poorly placed monitors? Along the way, we started using tablets and smartphones which have a different set of ergonomic issues. This presentation will take us down memory lane on computer ergonomics and give us ideas on the proper use of our tablets and smartphones. A bit more about Judy Taylour… Judy is a 33-year member of the Santa Clarita Valley Computer Club. She was co-facilitator for the Southern California Regional User Group Summit (SCRUGS), a group of computer clubs in Southern California that met together quarterly for over 20 years to share ideas and presenter information, solve problems, etc. She spent 23 years involved with the Southwest Technology Conference held in San Diego for 20 years and three additional years at Cal Poly Pomona, serving as co-chair and chair. Judy taught adult education tech classes for 22 years through her local high school district and is a member of the Pierce College Computer Applications and Office Technologies Advisory Committee that meets annually to suggest courses and hardware for the next school year. Judy is a firm believer in life-long learning. APRIL GENERAL MEETING RECAP Donna Creasy presented to the FPCUG via the Zoom video teleconference app. She briefly explained how neurofeedback works and why it is an effective intervention for a wide variety of problems including mood & anxiety disorders, attachment disorders & childhood trauma (including PTSD), autism, developmental disorders, and ADHD. Donna presented many examples of patients who were effectively treated for these disorders using neurofeedback. Neurofeedback is especially effective in the treatment of developmental trauma, PTSD, and racialized trauma. Donna explained that the National Institute of Health’s BRAIN Initiative (Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies) is likely to increase public knowledge of neurofeedback and other neuro-therapies. 1 REMINDER – FPCUG MEMBERSHIP DUES ARE OVERDUE ! Dues were due April 1, 2021, and cover the period from April 1 through March 31, 2022. Due to COVID-19 concerns, we ask that you make your $25 check out to the FPCUG and mail it to our treasurer, Rick Neil at: FPCUG, P.O. Box 276, Fredericksburg, VA 22404. CHROMEBOOK FUNCTION KEYS? Have you purchased a Chromebook? Chromebooks provide a lot of performance and versatility for your dollar. However, using them to their full potential requires diligence and an understanding of the Chrome special keys and hidden function keys on the keyboard. The top row of keys on a Chromebook are symbols that are not labeled F1, F2, F3, etc. Images above and at right were obtained from the Dell Inspiron 3181 Users Guide (2018 Dell Inc.) A secondary function key purpose is enabled when the search/launcher key is held while pressing a special key. Writing for How-To Geek, Joe Fedewa says, “One important thing to note is that this won’t work if you have changed the function of the Search/Launcher key. It needs to be in its default state.” A useful option built into the Chrome Operating System is the reassignment of key functions. If you want to assign the special keys to act as function keys permanently, Mr. Fedewa provides instructions in the How-To Geek article linked above. 2 Chromebook Update By Jeff Wilkinson, President, Sun City Summerlin Computer Club (https://www.scscc.club) pres.scscc (at) gmail.com I have become more interested in Chromebooks as an alternative for our club members who need to replace an outdated desktop or laptop computer. Many, if not most, of these users don’t need the features of today’s typical laptops and since so many of the tasks are accomplished online without the need for local storage, a Chromebook becomes a very attractive option. With a Chromebook and a free Google account; email, web browsing, video streaming and a host of Android applications are available. In addition to its comparatively low cost, a Chromebook offers a useful synergy with Android phones and applications along with light weight and long battery life. The complete Google Suite of Cloud applications is available free and offers a useful alternative to Office software suites. Another attraction is the ability to repurpose outdated laptops with the installation of Google’s Neverware CloudReady software. The free Home version listed as being “useful for Tinkerers, Parents and Students, and Other Humans Ready for a better OS” was right up my alley. I successfully converted two old laptops that were not upgradable to the current Windows operating system. Both worked well although they had some limitations. With a new HP Chromebook I was able to make use of all the latest features of the Chromebook operating system including one of the latest updates for scanning. By simply logging into my Google account with my Gmail address and password I had all my browsing bookmarks, photos and Gmail available to me. So, when I saw a recent news report about the tracking of Chromebook users it raised some concern. As has been discussed before, an inquiry about a specific product or service, more often than not, results in the sudden appearance of ads for that product or service or similar products in many of your search results, popups on YouTube views, social media pages and emails. The gist of the new report I saw was the concern for the profiling of Chromebook users and the use of the collected information to target market to that user. The main way of collecting the metrics used to target market are cookies that are ostensibly used to “customize” your web experience. While a “do not track” setting is available in the Chrome and Edge browsers, be aware of this official Google statement “Most websites and web services, including Google’s, don’t change their behavior when they receive a Do Not Track request”. Chrome doesn’t provide details of which websites and web services respect Do Not Track requests and how websites interpret them. Do Not Track is not available on iPhones or iPads. Does it work? Not very well … seems every time I search for anything, I get pop ups and ads for that or similar items for days. Of course, the data collection is true of virtually all the so-called free software in which your usage data is the real product. So be aware, while Chromebooks offer an attractive alternative to a Windows or IOS laptop they tightly integrate with Google in ways you may not realize. https://www.usatoday.com/videos/tech/2018/09/25/-google-chrome-tracking-you/37935707/ https://clark.com/technology/google-chrome-do-not-track/ https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/how-to-get-google-to-quit-tracking-you https://www.wired.com/story/google-tracks-you-privacy/ https://9to5google.com/2020/02/06/google-chrome-x-client-data-tracking/ https://lifehacker.com/what-data-of-mine-does-chrome-send-to-google-5763452 3 CAN USB 3.2 GEN 2 PORTS BE ADDED TO AN OLDER PC? I have recently begun to use Type-C™ USB 3.2 Gen 2 devices with a new desktop and laptop computer (i.e., an external USB 3.2 Gen 2 solid-state drive). The 10 GBs has changed the backup time for these computers from hours to minutes. This led me to question whether you could add modern Type-C™ USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports to an older computer. Coincidentally, the same question was posed by a reader of the Rick’s Tech Tips Newsletter that I subscribe to. Rick Rouse found a PCIe card for sale at Amazon.com that provides two Type-C™ USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports. The use of this card requires an open X4, X8, or X16 PCIe Express Slot (see the diagram below). My search of the internet did not result in an available Type-C™ 3.2 Gen 2 adapter for a laptop computer. However, if your laptop has a 34mm/54mm ExpressCard slot, you can add USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports. The StarTech ExpressCard SuperSpeed USB 3.0 (USB 3.2 Gen 1) Card Adapter at left is only $29 at Amazon.com. Note: 34 mm ExpressCards will fit into 54mm ExpressCard slots. ExpressCard adapters for the new USB 3.2 Gen 2 and USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 are likely to be manufactured to provide support for modern Type-C™ USB 3.2 devices soon. Be careful when shopping for USB devices online because USB nomenclature has recently changed (see the USB 3.2 Specifications at USB.org).