The Dark Side of Technology

http://groups/yahoo.com/group/WAUC/ !1 http://wauc.us

WAUCWAUCtalk Wisconsin All-computer Users Club January 2018

Volume 35 No. 1

January General Meeting 18 Q&A SIG, Thur., 7:00 PM Speedway Station, 60th & Layton Ave. Feb. 1, 2018, 7:00 PM 24 InvestmentTracking SIG, Wed. 7:00 PM Wendy’s, 7707 W. Layton Ave. Jackson Park Lutheran 25 Tablets Plus SIG, Android, 7:00 PM, iPad 6:30 PM Clement Manor, 9405 W. Howard

February 1 WAUC General Meeting, Thur., 7:00 PM Jackson Park Lutheran Church 4535 W. Oklahoma Ave. Presentation:Dark Side of Technology 1 Executive Board Meeting, Thurs. 6:15 The Dark PM

6 Deadline for submitting articles for WAUCtalk 8 Tutorial SIG: Thur., 7:00 PM Side of Speedway Station, 60th & Layton Ave.

12 WAUC Lunch, Mon., 1 PM, Old Country Buffet, 4902 S. 74th RSVP: [email protected] Technology 15 Q&A SIG, Thur., 7:00 PM Speedway Station, 60th & Layton Ave.

21 InvestmentTracking SIG, Wed. 7:00 PM Wendy’s, 7707 W. Layton Ave.

22 Tablets Plus SIG, Android, 7:00 PM, Table of Contents iPad 6:30 PM 1 Calendar, Table of Contents, General Meeting Announcement Clement Manor, 9405 W. Howard 2 General and Board Meeting Minutes: Cold Affects Meeting Attendance Future Presentations: 3 Q&A SIG: SIG Discusses Crossing Devices (continued) • March: TBA 5 Jim H. Demonstrates Roku 6 Freshly Squeezed Reviews: Elevate by Frank Petrie 8 CD of the Month for January 9 Masthead, How to Use CD of the Month, How to Communicate Abby Stokes: Is This Thing On? is with WAUC, Application/Renewal Blank still available for sale: $11.00 10 One-on-one Service, APCUG logo January 2018 2 WAUCtalk Main Meeting—Business: The meeting was called Cold Affects Meeting Attendance to order. There were no guests or new members. Board Meeting; The board meeting was called to Attendance was only 12, lower than usual on account order January 4, 2018. The first topic discussed was of the extreme cold. In fact, the meeting room became APCUG and whether a VTC (Virtual Tech Conference, colder than anyone could remember. I believe) was coming up in February. Resolved to check it out once the club computer was on line. Bill Gierach gave the Treasurer's report, a beginning balance of $1701, total revenue (mostly from dues) of Gary reminded all that there is usually an annual audit $205, expenses of $164 for an ending balance of of the books some time in January or February. $1742 (all numbers approximate). Resolved to ask for volunteers at the main meeting. We took a look at the APCUG website and found no Gary then spoke about our "ad hoc" positions, in VTC scheduled soon. particular the need for a Refreshments Czar and a Raffle Manager. Resolved to ask for volunteers at the Gary mentioned the treasury audit and Dale Voit main meeting. volunteered to take a look at the books. Gary discussed the need for certain "ad hoc" positions to be filled.

Bill Gierach reported on the net earnings of the rafﬂe for the last three years. The rafﬂe netted $36 dollars in 2015, $20 in 2016, and $69 in 2017.

Gary brought up the Tablet SIG; Louise was not present. Terry Harvey volunteered to call about the status of the Tablet SIG iPad section.

SIG Reports were given. Some highlights: the Tutorial SIG looked at some YouTube videos of tips for Windows 10. A brief poll indicated that a majority of those present now have Windows 10. We sort of knew that was going to happen eventually... During the Q&A SIG Richard Durand asked about drivers and the updating thereof.

Bill Gierach described what was on the CD of the Month. Rafﬂe prizes were described. There was no new business.

Main Meeting—Discussion: Gary brought up some of the recent security ﬂaws that have been in the news, particularly one that has been present on practically every microprocessor made over the last 20 years. Jim Hempel (with a bit of prodding from Richard Durand) announced he is conducting a class on smartphones at the Wilson Park Senior Center. We ﬁnished with a discussion of phone functions, particularly the use of the "1" key to call the voice mail number.

Main Meeting—Presentation: Hewie Poplaw spoke to us about EverNote, showing us many impressive Richard Durand brought up the topic of the Tablet SIG features. The one that most amazed me is that it can and whether it will be able to continue. The board even ﬁnd text inside of graphics. Has OCR (Optical meeting adjourned. Character Recognition) ﬁnally arrived?

http://groups/yahoo.com/group/WAUC/ !3 http://wauc.us select "Get video URL at current time." Copy the link SIG Discusses Crossing Devices that appears and paste it into an email or on Facebook. When anyone clicks on the link, the video (This is a continuation of the articles in the will start at the exact spot you wanted. December issue.) Handy hint: Copying the link using the CTRL+C Unfortunately, if you have an unstable internet command doesn't always work. If you test the link connection that speeds up and slows down, it can and it doesn't start the video at the right time, do this throw YouTube for a loop. When your connection instead: Right-click the video and select "Get video speeds up, YouTube will try to push you to a higher URL at current time." Then right-click on the link and video quality setting, and then you're stuck buffering select "Copy." Then paste it and it should work. when the connection slows down again. The next site we looked into was on YouTube. It was Fortunately, if that starts happening, you can take sponsored by Britec.com and contained information control. Click the gear icon in the lower-right corner on the top ten programs every Win 10 computer of the video player and see what the Quality setting should have, as chosen by the presenter. Let’s is. summarize the sites described on the video, with a brief description of each. Try dropping it down one setting and see if that smooths things out. So if it's 1080p, make it 720p. If The first one is Handbrake. HandBrake is a free and you're still having trouble, drop it down another level. open-source converter for digital video files, originally developed in 2003 by Eric Petit to make ripping a film You can also use this to force YouTube to a higher from a DVD to a data storage device easier. Since quality setting than it would normally go for your then, it has undergone many changes and revisions. connection. You'll be waiting longer for the video to start playing, but it should be smooth once it gets The second program is Dashlane. Dashlane is a going. password manager app and secure digital wallet. The app is available on Mac, PC, iOS and Android. Want to share a video, but not the entire thing? This The app's premium feature enables users to securely is tip 5. You found a hilarious video but it doesn't get sync their data between an unlimited number of good until three minutes in. The first part is boring devices on all platforms. and you don't want your friend to stop watching too soon. At number 3, we have Audacity. Audacity is a free open source digital audio editor and recording Cue up the video to the start of the section you want computer software application, available for your friend to see. Then right-click the video and Windows, macOS/OS X, Linux and other operating systems.

Media Player Classic comes in at #4. Media Player Classic is a compact media player for 32-bit and 64-bit Microsoft Windows. MPC mimics the look and feel of Windows Media Player 6.4, but provides most options and features available in modern media players This is a presenter favorite.

On to 7-Zip. 7-Zip is a free and open-source ﬁle archiver, a utility used to place groups of ﬁles within compressed containers known as January 2018 4 WAUCtalk "archives".

Search Everything comes in a #6. Everything is a desktop search utility for Windows that can rapidly ﬁnd ﬁles and folders by name on an NTFS volume.

Number seven is a program called Space Sniffer. This is a freeWare program and portable application that lets you understand how folders and ﬁles are structured on your disks. By using a Treemap visualization layout, you have immediate perception of where big folders and ﬁles are placed on your devices.

Pixlr Editor is similar to Photoshop. A robust browser photo editor, for all your editing needs. With Pixlr Editor you have full control over your images including layers and effects.

WPS Ofﬁce is an ofﬁce suite for Microsoft Windows, Linux, iOS and Android OS, developed by Zhuhai- based Chinese software developer Kingsoft Treasurer’s Report Dec. 2017 That brings us to number ten, da Vinci Resolve. DaVinci Resolve is the world’s most advanced Beginning Balance $1,701.48 professional editing software. It’s both familiar and uniquely innovative, giving you the precision tools and Income performance you need to craft the perfect story! Dues 175.00 Donation 30.00 The presenter stated that all these programs have Total $205.00 free versions. I noted that many also have a premium version. These usually remove ads, provide support, Expenses and/or contain additional features. Newsletter 20.00 Internet Connect Fee 10.58 For more information on these, and to watch this Xmas Party 133.07 video, the link is provided. https://www.youtube.com/ Total $163.65 watch?v=vy3yio_ZQm4 Ending Balance $1,742.83 Jim Hempel http://groups/yahoo.com/group/WAUC/ !5 http://wauc.us

Richard has been having a battery issue on his cell Jim H. Demonstrates Roku phone and is looking at replacing his phone. We did a little research on the Moto Z2 Play which comes Due to personal travel and schedule conflicts during with 32GB of memory. We also looked into ways to this holiday season, it was decided to have a transfer data and apps between devices. One combined Android and iPad meeting. In attendance program mentioned was https://ninite.com/. Ninite is were George M., Mary H., Claudia S., Jim H., Terry a web service that consolidates the latest versions of and Bob H., Richard D., and Don and Chris G. applications into a single installer for you to download. Simply pick the apps you want, and then The first question to come up dealt with the start your customized installer. Ninite works in the Messenger system in Facebook. While Jim was background and is 100 percent hands-free. It is setting up the TV, Terry and others continued the generally used in Windows apps. discussion and the Messenger question was answered. During the set up, Jim pointed out how A question came up about the Mobile Android version the Roku streaming stick was connected to the HDMI of Chrome and how to transfer bookmarks from one socket in the back of a very standard, low price flat cell phone to another. We found some suggestions, panel TV. but eventually thought that the time spent finding an automated solution may exceed the time to manually When the TV was turned around and the members transfer a limited number of bookmarks. saw the Roku content that was displayed on-screen, a lot of questions followed. By going to the Settings The discussion turned to home automation. We function on the Home screen, we were able to scan learned Claudia has a new video door bell and Don for available Wi-Fi signals and connected the just got a new personal assistant, Google Home. CMGuest signal. After the smartphone was similarly connected to CMGuest, it was possible to mirror or Several alternatives to Office 365 annual subscription cast the phone’s display onto the TV. were discussed. LibreOffice is free and highly rated. It’s one of several available. Google Docs is an on Next, we talked about the two Search functions on line substitute, and MS Office is available free on the Roku device and explained the differences. On tablets and smartphones. the Home screen, we went to Streaming Channels. There we were able to search for additional channels The next question involved saving a recording on a accessible via Roku. We searched for Acorn TV and DVR to a jump drive. It seems more details may be added it to the list of channels accessible on the TV. required to answer this since some DVR’s use a Some channels are totally free, some have a monthly proprietary format to store the recordings. subscription fee and some have a blend of both free and priced items. Jim Hempel

Back on the Home screen, it is possible to search for a speciﬁc movie or series. The system searches a number of content providers, like Amazon, Netﬂix, Hulu and others. If it is found on any of those, it appears in a list along with the price, usually free to about $3. We tried for and found the Doc Martin Movie.

A question was asked about the features and costs of the streaming devices. This may vary with the phone platform used. If you are committed to Apple products, it may be best to look into their offering for streaming products. For Android users, there are several alternatives including Roku, Google Chromecast, Amazon Fire stick and others. A very popular and highly rated is the Roku Streaming Stick + which retails for $70 but can be found during sales events for about $50. January 2018 6 WAUCtalk Freshly Squeezed Reviews You are to pick the option that best shares the same meaning (occasionally, they toss Elevate, a new type of cognitive training tool in ’None of the Above’) before the shuttle By Frank Petrie crashes back to the ground. August issue, BCUG Bytes Brookdale Computer User Group In the second game, you are given a www.bcug.com sentence. You are to choose which word(s) TMC-NLC[at]yahoogroups[dot]com are redundant or superfluous. If you should pick the wrong selection, an explanation is With Apple’s focus on health apps, it has provided as to why your choice was become easier to track your physical incorrect. (As I’m writing this review, I’m activity, your nutrition, your sleep cycle, finding myself a bit paranoid, proofing this your nutritional intake, and even manage review repeatedly. It’s apparent to me that I your stress. One aspect that doesn’t draw need to keep practicing.) enough attention is strengthening your mental fitness. My third favorite is to bolster your memory. You are given a passage to read. But it is There are many apps to choose from for only presented to you one word at a time in this purpose. Of the handful of apps that rapid succession, with each word placed in I’ve tried, I have found one to be the most individual cells. At the end of the passage, effective and comprehensive: Elevate you are presented with a question (https://www.elevateapp.com). Elevate is a derived from the passage. There are two new type of cognitive training tool designed possible answers available to you. If you to build communication and analytical skills. choose the correct one, you move on to the Elevate has been selected by Apple as the next passage. App of the Year. Since launching in May 2014, elevate has been downloaded more If not, you are presented with the complete than 10 million times on the App Store and passage with the pertinent information in Google Play2. (Before I go any further, this bold font, pointing out the section that review was done using a Pro version of provided the correct answer. Elevate.) Finally, another game presents you with Start training your brain. Russian nesting dolls. Within these dolls Elevate measures your performance in are several pictures. When a word appears, listening, writing, speaking, math, and you click on the picture which best displays reading. They manage to accomplish this in that word’s meaning. very entertaining, yet challenging ways, utilizing both visual and aural approaches. Get instructed In the Pro version, there are 40+ games to To view a game’s instruction, open the choose from and as with any exercise game and tap the Pause button in the regime, you perform daily for optimum upper-left corner of the screen. Then tap results. Game Instructions. To get back to the game, tap the Back button and then the As an example, there are four writing Resume button. games that I find myself constantly returning to. First, one game launches a There is a math game that deals in space shuttle from the pad. You are percentages. If left to my own device, I presented with a word at the top of the would correctly answer these. But when screen. Below, you are given two choices. http://groups/yahoo.com/group/WAUC/ !7 http://wauc.us they’re presented with time constraints, it’s You can choose which games you would surprising how many simple mistakes you like for your daily session, to tailor your can make. session to work on your weaknesses or strengthen things that you are already And should you find yourself somewhat proficient at. overwhelmed by the challenge, you can find inspirational quotes in the Expert Tips While writing this review, I felt that even exercise, part of the public speaking though the developer refers to each category on the study page. exercise as a “game,” it belittled the thoroughness of this app and how very The app keeps track of your progress in professional it is. Read their Effectiveness each category, utilizing their Elevate Study, which you can see here: https:// Proficiency Quotient (EPQ). www.elevateapp.com/research. You’ll appreciate just Based on your historical performance, the how seriously the developer takes app provides you with suggestions on how expanding this extremely productive tool. to improve your performance in any chosen discipline where you appear to be having Elevate is an iOS app that requires iOS 9.0 difficulty. (Personally, I am terrible with or later and is compatible with iPhone, iPad, names. The tip for using mnemonic devices iPod Touch, and Apple Watch. There are to match the name with the face I have been numerous subscription models from Monthly doing for years but without much success. to Lifetime to choose from. This app enables me to keep practicing and hopefully improve.) To get a feel for the app there are videos available on site (https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ 5 Icons dzkhrjxs06iz1kg/AABG- BEes6_qMQ7hSZ4rjCfE9a?dl=0). On the bottom of Elevates home screen, The free version limits you to three games daily, you’ll find five icons. The first icon takes you selected from a limited number of exercises. A to the button that you push to begin your Pro subscription increases that number to five. session. Plus, there are 40+ games to choose from, 17 The second takes you to a screen that which can only be accessed by obtaining a keeps track of your progress. There is your subscription (with additional Pro games added regularly). You also receive “regular deliveries of EPQ, your Rankings in the community, your premium learning material, and access to Pro- Activity measured by time, and Milestones only study tools to deepen your skills.” (such as how many days in a row you have trained). Any Pro version is an in-app purchase. Merely Next is Study. Here you can choose from launch the app, tap “Explore Pro” in the top right specific categories that you would especially corner of the screen, then tap the button at the bottom of the screen to unlock “Pro.” like to train extra in. Click on one of these and you will be presented with a detailed I cannot express enough how impressive explanation as to what that category is this app is. You really owe it to yourself to about and the benefits it provides. download a copy. Although I found the Pro The fourth icon, Notifications, will take you version to be worthy of the subscription, to various ARTICLES where you can read a even if you only used the free version, you’ll summary of your weekly activity, how to find this app to be indispensable to improve your skills by reviewing recent improving your mental agility. (But you’ll errors, or to a screen where you can inevitably go for the Pro version.). customize your settings, such as how many games you would like to play each session ©2016 Frank Petrie or pick your training goals. January 2018 8 WAUCtalk

CD of the Month – January 2018 Audio, Image & Video Tools: oCam 428.0 - oCam is an impressive little app that can capture and record onscreen images, video and audio. AnyBurn 3.9 - AnyBurn is a free lightweight app that supports Audio, Video and ISO file ripping and burning. VLC Media Player 2.2.8 – Free video playback program that offers robust support for a wide range of video and audio formats, including OGG, MP2, MP3, MP4, DivX, HD codecs like AES3, Raw Dirac. Security: Avast Antivirus 17.9.2322 - Updated, another great anti-virus program, some consider it better than AVG. AVG AntiVirus 17.9.3040 - AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition is trusted antivirus and antispyware program. Malwarebytes 2.2.1 – Malwarebytes will scan your computer for known threats. Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit 1.09.1.1291 – This program protects you against the security vulnerabilities in the code of your software programs. Stinger 12.1.0.2626 - Stinger is a quick standalone tool for detecting and removing malware, ideal if your PC is already infected. SuperAntiSpyware 6.0.1250 – SuperAntiSpyware features highly advanced Real-Time Protection to ensure protection from installation or re-installation of potential threats as you surf the Internet. Utilities: AlomWare Lights 2.02 - AlomWare Lights shows the LED status of the Num Lock, Caps Lock, and Scroll Lock keys. CCleaner 5.38.6357 – CCleaner is a freeware system optimization, privacy and cleaning tool. Evernote 6.8.7.6387 - Evernote allows you to easily capture information in any environment using whatever device or platform you find most convenient. GodMode – This will create the GodMode settings folder on Desktop. Notepad++ 7.5.4 - Notepad++ is a free source code editor and Notepad replacement supporting several languages. SyncBack 8.5.5 - SyncBack has established itself as world-class in the field of backup and synchronization software. USBFix 10.002 – UsbFix is a free malware removal tool that detects and removes infected USB memory sticks. Web Tools: Firefox 57.0.2 – The latest version of the web browser. Dropbox 40.4.46 - Dropbox is the easiest way to store, sync and share files online. Skype 7.40.0.104 - Skype is software for calling other people on their computers or phones. Thunderbird 52.5.2 – Thunderbird is a free email application. Documents: The PDF version of this Table of Contents. William Gierach Email: [email protected] http://groups/yahoo.com/group/WAUC/ !9 http://wauc.us

WAUC How to Use the CD of the Month WAUCtalk is a monthly publication of the Wisconsin All-computer Users Club. WAUC is a computer club dedicated to promoting and How does one use the CDOM and what is it? instructing the use of computers to WAUC members. Membership in WAUC is $25 per To use the CD of the Month, insert the CD into your CD drive. It may take year ($12.50 if applying after June 1). a few seconds for the CD drive to read it. A box will appear on your screen WAUCtalk is emailed to all WAUC members. with a few choices on it. Chose AUTORUN.EXE. Some computers are set to automatically read the CD. Either way, a menu appears with Free advertising is available to WAUC categories. The categories are usually Documents, Web Tools, Utilities, members. We are not responsible for Images and Video Tools, and Security. I always click on DOCUMENTS omissions or errors. first so I can read a short synopsis of each program. Click on any of the WAUC Ofcers President: Gary Kohler...... 949-9307 categories and more choices will appear. If you’ve clicked on a category [email protected] and it isn’t what you want, just click on MAIN MENU to take you back to Treasurer: Bill Gierach...... 421-6827 the beginning. To INSTALL A PROGRAM, CLICK ON THE PROGRAM ON [email protected] THE MENU, a box will come up asking if you’re sure you want to make Board Meeting Secretary: Don Skarda changes to your system. Answer YES. In a few seconds the program will [email protected] 262-416-8210 install itself. It will put an icon on your desktop. To use the program, just General Meeting Sec’y: Vacant click on it from your desktop. I buy one every month. Bill works hard to Program Chairman: Terry Harvey select programs for us and does a great job. These CDOMs have saved [email protected] 262-971-0999 me more then once. To purchase a CDOM, see Bill Gierach. The cost is Staf $5. Editor: Julia Rice ...... 649-9671 [email protected] Terry Harvey Bulletin Editor: Bruce Kosbab...... 771-6086 [email protected] Directory Editor: Doris Regner Webmaster and BoardWAUC: Don Skarda How to Communicate with WAUC Sites •Link to WAUC news and monthly meeting info via the WEB Page: "http://www.wauc.us/" Raffle Items February 2018 •If you are on Yahoo, you can be part of our Yahoo Group " • Medium size sweatshirt (3) BoardWAUC Computer Club" at "https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/ • Cooling fan for 10" or smaller all/list" You need to be invited by the Webmaster. notebook •If you are on Facebook, you can request to be invited by any WAUC • Memorex 48 BIT USB Scanner member that is a member of the WAUC Group on Facebook. • Six-foot USB Mini Cables If you have any questions or comments please contact me: Don Skarda, • HP USB Mouse ( 5 Webmaster, [email protected] selections )

WAUC Membership Application/ Renewal

Name______Phone ( ) ______

Address ______e-mail______

City______State______Zip______

How did you hear about WAUC?______What do you like to use your computer for?______What talents do you have that you would like to share?______To join WAUC, please send completed form along with check for $25.00 to cover dues from January 1st through December 31, 2018 to:

Wisconsin All-computers Users Club Paid by: □ New Member P.O. Box 340241 □ Cash □ Renewal Milwaukee, WI 53234-0241 □ Check □ Do Not include me in any special mailings. January 2018 10 WAUCtalk

WAUC'S ONE-ON-ONE COMPUTER REPAIR SERVICE

All WAUC members qualify to receive WAUC's One-on-One Computer Repair Service. As we have learned all too well, computers often have to be examined to determine exactly what their problems are. What we think might be the problem, might not really be the case. WAUC Treasurer Bill Gierach has been working with personal computers ever since they came along and few can match his experience. If your machine is crashing, running slow, making funny noises, or whatever, let him take a look at it. This is just the first step. Subsequent payment for parts and labor may be necessary, but at least you'll be informed and able to make a better decision.

Computer examinations can be carried out at the WAUC Tutorial SIG, second Thursday of the Month, or the Q & A SIG, third Thursday of the month, both at 7:00 PM, Speedway Station, 60th and Layton in Greenfield, at Bill's home, or at your home. To facilitate this service, please first email, call, or speak to Bill to arrange the best time. Bill can be reached at [email protected] or at 414-421-6827.

In appreciation for the use of their conference room, please patronize Speedway gas station at 60th & Layton.

WAUC Wisconsin All-computers Users Club P.O. Box 340241 Milwaukee, WI 53234-0241

First Class

Renew Now