January news 2017


This class is taught by a Member from the Computer User’s group of Redding  http://cugr.apcug.org.  
Changes in the New Year for the Thursday Beyond Basics class
The Beyond Basics class will end January 19th and a new Thursday class will be offered on Windows 10.  It will occur only on the 4th Thursday of each month beginning January 26th   


Classes by Instructor  Jane Quinn  Start January  10th Tuesday at 12:30pm . It's new class ; Computing for Seniors. It will be held on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Tuesday of every month at 12:30pm.
The class material will cover usage and the basics for Smartphones, Tablets, iPads , iPhones , as well as Laptops .  The first lesson will be on terminology and resources for self-help. The 2nd week we will cover how to setup a smartphone for the first time. The 3rd week we will Connect the phone to a computer, Change the USB settings to photo transfer, Use Import command from a Photo App
And any questions brought by students. Tablets, and smartphones have similar if not identical solutions. So bring your new device and learn in class with others.
On the 4th Tuesday at 3pm - 5pm we will meet at the Redding Library in the Community Room 1100 Park Ave . 
This meeting is Open to the Public to join us , the Computer User's Group of Redding. ( facebook Group as CUGRmembers and FB Computer User's Group of Redding )
Tuesday dates at the Redding Library ; Jan 24th 3pm,  Feb 28 3pm,  Mar 28 th 3pm ,  Apr 25 3pm 

Send an email to one4cugr@gmail.com if you have questions about the class or something you’d like solved

Below is an example of what you can learn in the Tuesday class. This is a part of the Contact App  that exists on all smartphones.
How to make Speed dial work for a smartphone.
Make a speed­dial shortcut for someone you call frequently. 
This could be very important to set up for someone who is using a smartphone for the first time. It makes it super easy to call that one most important person! You should mark as “Favorites” all frequently used contacts. To do that, just open your contacts, tap “Favorites” at the top of the screen, then the + to add contacts to this Favorites screen. Even better, you can make a “widget” to make a one­tap shortcut to call someone. On this Samsung, the way to get to Widgets is to Long­Press on a blank area of the home screen. You should see an option button for Widgets, tap that and you get to a long list of possible widgets. Find the widget for Contacts and tap it, long press the button for “Direct Dial” then you will be presented with your list of contacts, select the one to be dialed. You should now see a button on your home screen for phone­calling that one person.

The  Windows 10 class  we will address everything you’d want to know about Windows 10.

4th Thursday beginning Jan 26th 1pm
·        Find the Control Settings
·        How to Use the Start tiles , the taskbar, and change the appearance of your desktop
·        How to use File Explorer
·        How to setup Accounts
·        How to Use the Photo App
·        How windows 10 works with your Smartphone or other devices.
·        Add Apps or remove them


 Here are some other tidbits from other sources;

How Does a Dashcam Work?
If the dashcam is running all the time, how does it store all that video? Does it use the Internet? No – you do not need an Internet connection, everything is handled directly by the phone or tablet. The video is stored on a loop. It’s recording all the time, but when it reaches the specified time limit, it starts deleting the beginning of the recording. Any time you want to keep a portion, just tap the screen to save and a specified amount of video, or still frames, will be stored in a separate file. If you’re in an accident, the accelerometer in the device alerts the app and it automatically saves that segment.
Some dashcams are now calling themselves “Black Boxes” because they can record not only the video out your windshield, but also audio, and diagnostic information from an OBD – On Board Diagnostic – device.  
  CaroO is another one that makes this claim.  
·        Platforms: Android
·        Cost: Free


Phishing – Not Hacking – Caused Leak
The recent release of so many hacked emails was a result of “spear-phishing,” a target phishing mail sent to marked individuals, 2 of whom were John Podesta, head of Hillary Clinton’s campaign & Colin Powell. Spear-phishing is an e-mail spoofing fraud attempt that targets a specific organization or person, seeking unauthorized access to confidential data.
The target gets a “security alert” from what looks like Google. “Someone has your password,” it says at the top, in a do-not-ignore-this red banner warning that someone has just tried to sign into your Google account.
The message provides realistic-looking details: the date the password was used, the IP address of the supposed culprit and a source location from which the account was accessed.
“Google stopped this sign-in attempt,” it reassures you, “but you should change your password.” Of course, there’s a button to do just that. “Change password,” the text reads, over a reassuring safety-blue background.
Most of us would click the button. That is what the 2 targets, Podesta & Powell did. It was that simple. That is why you need to be very careful on what you click within an email, even from those who you trust. Always try to look where the link takes you if you know how. Otherwise, go you the account in question directly, instead of through a link in your email. The bad guys in this situation used a shortened link (bit.ly) and forgot to make it private. Investigators could see that the Podesta link only had 2 clicks, both Podesta. It was definitely targeted.
To protect yourself from spear-phishing or phishing, try these tips. 1. Pick a strong password for your accounts and use different passwords for each account. 2. Use 2-factor authentication whenever you can. 3. Consider using security software that blocks malware in addition to blocking viruses.

    

    

December News 2016

This class is taught by a Member from the Computer User’s group of Redding  http://cugr.apcug.org.  
The Holiday schedule for December

No class on Dec 8th Thursday’s Beyond Class

Thursday’s group is meeting at Marlene Robinson’s home. Send an email to one4cugr@gmail.com if you’d like to come

Dec 16th Friday – Kaycee Smith will hold her class on Computer Care.

The class will be on;

·        Why it's important to sign in using a Microsoft account on your computer
·        Advantages for Microsoft to monitor threats. And also to answer questions..
  

Thursday’s class we discussed Apps for devices, in particular phone apps.

 One of our members told us about APPS for Podcasts. Why would you want an app for a podcast?  Using an APP for a podcast while using your phone will not use your data plan. So you will be using your device without being charged data usage from your phone contract.  You can find a PODCAST app for your Android device on Google Play or look for it in your store on your particular phone or tablet.
   Sharing New Devices
 One of our students brought a new Dell tablet to class. It comes with Windows 10 and has several ports to connect USB devices as well as an HDMI port to connect to a display monitor or TV. It is  11-inch 2-in-1    ,  lightweight and easy to travel with you anywhere.





The remaining class time was spent on tips using Android  smart phones. Mostly the discussion and tips were on Google Play Apps.
The remaining class time was spent on tips using Android  smart phones. Mostly the discussion and tips were on Google Play Apps.

SMART PHONE TIPS
Copy Paste Dates from eMail to Google Calendar
If you use the Google Calendar app, you can easy copy and paste date information to it from an eMail. Just Long press the date information, drag the ending and beginning markers to highlight the desired text. At the top of the screen you should see options for copy- tap that. Next go where you want that text to appear. Longpress and Past.
 Editing Photos with Snapseed:This App does not work on PCs, only Smartphones and Apple products.
 Use Healing to remove blemishes with Snapseed , a free app from Google for both Apple iOS and Android.
You must have Snapseed installed, but then you can get to it from Google Photos. Open the photo you want to work with, tap the 3-dot menu and Edit in…Snapseed. Once you’re in Snapseed, tap the edit pencil and then the Healing Tool.
Two fingers on the screen and pinch or zoom will adjust the magnification of the photo. One finger on the screen performs the healing. If you don’t like it you can tap the undo button and try again. When you’re happy with the results, tap save.
On an Android you can finish by tapping Done and you’ll return to Google Photos. The iPhone does not do this smoothly. The only way I can figure out to go back and forth is to use the multitasking bar (double-tap on Home button)
When you’re done, you will have 2 photos – the original and the copy that Snapseed made and edited. 
Here's a Youtube video on using Snapseed to improve an image



November 2016



This class is taught by a Member from the Computer User’s group of Redding  http://cugr.apcug.org.  

The Thursday group meets for lunch every 2nd Thursday before class at 11:30. November 10th we will meet at The Round Table  in Anderson on McMurry Drive



New Class KayCee Smith will be offering classes on the 3rd Friday of the month. You can request a topic for her to cover by sending your request to one4cugr@gmail.com, or getting on her student list with your email contact information

November 17th – All about eMailing and email programs. Bring your questions and your devices.


November 2016     

Using SafeMode in Windows 10

Safe mode is handled differently in Windows 10. If you're experiencing startup issues or slow sluggish responses you should consider using CCleaner in Safemode. In the olden says jumping into Safemode was easy, on the startup of your computer hold down a Function key and you landed in SAFEMODE. Not any more.  
Together we discovered just how different. Basically , you need to use the Update & Security  panel through a few steps to actually get to Safemode. The old way , shutting down the system and holding down the keys to bring the desktop to Safemode doesn't work anymore.
t
Select Start ,  choose Settings 
Select Update & Security > Recovery
Under Advance startup select Restart now 
 After PC restarts to the Choose an option screen, select Troubleshoot> Advanced options > Startup Settings> Restart
  After your PC restarts, select a startup setting by pressing the corresponding number 



This is also saved in a document in the HandOuts page on this site. 
http://reddingcomputerclub.blogspot.com/p/resources-for-os.html

Use SNAPSEED APP to add TEXT and more Filters

     

Blue Tooth Small Great Speaker for $$ from Amazon

DKnight MagicBox II Bluetooth 4.0 Portable Wireless speaker, 10W Output Power with Enhanced Bass, build in Microphone for handfree phone call (Blue)



Photo:
MagicBox II Wireless Speaker by DKnight
Photo:
Vance Pierce enjoying and thinking of buying this great little speaker



Find a DVD player for Windows
Now that we have moved to Windows 10, we have discovered we are  missing software that will play a DVD on our desktop.  This APP called  VLC player is free, and it will play any DVD you try to play in your desktop. Here’s the website to download it, and also
VLC Player tutorial 1 – Installation
VLC player is a popular and powerful media player for Windows and a vast number of other platforms. VLC is well loved amongst power users for its advanced media streaming capabilities and its high compatibility with a huge range of media formats. What’s more, VLC can play DVD movies for free, including copy-protected DVD discs, without any additional software.
To get started with this superb free player, first download the latest version for Windows by visiting the VLC for Windows download page. You can choose any mirror but if you intend to follow this tutorial please chose the “Windows self-extracting package” rather than the “Windows 7zip” version. Download the file to your desktop or somewhere where you can easily find it. When the download has completed, open the file (or double click it) to start the installation process.  

And here is a step by step instruction of how to do it

 Master the basics of Windows 10 on desktop and tablet with our free video tutorials

Here’s another resource for you to learn all there is about using Windows 10. The APP called Get Started comes with Windows 10. You should try using it. It will walk you all the major components of the operating system. Between using that APP , and sites like this one you will be proficient using it.
  

Phone Study
We will continue learning the basic on smart phones. Here are some helpful hints on what to do with your fingers, which is your mouse on a tablet or a smartphone
One finger – Like a Mouse
            Click – Tap      
            Double Click – Double Tap    
            Drag-Drag/Slide, touch hold and slide
            Right Click=Long Press, Touch and hold
            Flick or Swipe -  a quick drag
Multi-touch gestures – More than one finger
            Pinch and Zoom= aka Pinch close, Pinch open, Reverse pinch         
            2 finger swipe
            3 finger 4 finger mostly used on tablets and iPads

CCleaner for Andriods and Phones
You will need to clear the cache on your devices just as you would on your desktop. CCleaner has launched its free version for Android to help you remove all unnecessary files from your smartphone or tablet. It can uninstall other apps, and provides information on your smartphone’s usage. 






October 2016

October 2016


This class is taught by a Member from the Computer User’s group of Redding  http://cugr.apcug.org.  

October 2016

KayCee Smith will be offering classes on the 3rd Friday of the month. You can request a topic for her to cover by sending your request to one4cugr@gmail.com, or getting on her student list with your email contact information



We will be studying Smart Phones in the month of October. So join us to learn about Android phones as well as Tablets. The tablets and Android phones are quite similar. The  APPS for Photos, as well as Facebook , Skype, and the General settings for storage and connecting to other devices are almost identical
Postings for October

Here's a link to the Study we did in class for Thursday's Beyond Basics class

SMART PHONE STUDY


GEEKS ON TOUR YOUTUBE VIDEOS FOR SMART PHONE LEARNING
Below is a link to several videos on Smart phone usage and one that includes a discussion on different types of Smart Phones. It's titled Is It Time for a New Smart Phone.





September 2016

This class is taught by a Member from the Computer User’s group of Redding  http://cugr.apcug.org.  

SEPT CLASSES START THE WEEK OF 9 - 12
OCT 7TH SPECIAL CLASS WITH KAYCEE SMITH
1PM TO 2PM COMPUTER SECURITY 
FOLLOWED BY Q AND A 


September Newsletter

Google Photos for Beginners

The app can be easily downloaded from the Google Play store or Apple iTunes. The online previews of your images or videos can be accessed from any device irrespective of their source!
Google offers some smart tools to ease the process of photo sharing. You can select your favorite shots and create a web album for your friends with just a couple of clicks. If people in your circle have their own Google accounts, they can easily save the pictures in their respective accounts with just a single click. Now, this is an amazing option for a group of people who have attended the same function, say a common friend’s wedding and therefore photos clicked by every person in that group can be organized in a single album!

Click below to see youtube What's new with Google Photos  by Geeks on Tour

The simplest way would be to install the Google photos in your mobile device and get started. The service offers several free versions for different mobile operating systems, android, iOS, etc. There is also a provision for users who want to upload photos from their PCs and Macs. So, there are different apps to access Google Photos from mobile devices or PCs and laptops. You just don’t need to swamp your smartphone’s memory by downloading photos from the PC just to upload them in the Google cloud.

Click Below to See Google Photos studied in Class


 Watch this Tutorial from Google on Google Photos




 Steps in How to Search your photos- You must be logged into your Google Account


  1. Go to photos.google.com/search.

  1. In the box at the top, type what you want to find, for example:
    1. Dogs
    2. New York City
    3. For people you've labeled: their name or nickname.
3. Use Drag and drop method to add photos from desktop to your albums
     Open both windows in file explorer. Drag the photos you want to the open window for the photo album.

Find photos of someone & apply a label
Use face groups to more easily search and manage your photos. After you apply a label to someone, you can search for them using their name. Note that this feature is not available in all countries.

STEP 1: Find photos of someone

  1. Go to photos.google.com/search.
  2. On the box with faces, click a person's face to see photos of them. To see more people, click the arrow.
    (If you don't see this box, that means this feature is not available in your country, you turned it off in settings, or you don't have any groups.)

STEP 2:  Apply a label

  1. At the top of a person's face group, click "Who's this?"
  2. Enter a name or nickname. Now you'll be able to search with that label using the search box.
    Note: Only you will see the private face labels you choose, even if you share those photos.

Turn off face grouping

You can stop getting similar faces grouped together in your photos. Turning it off will delete face groups in your account, the face models used to create those face groups, and any face labels you created.
  1. Go to photos.google.com/settings.
  2. Next to "Group similar faces," turn the switch off.


SORT THE PHOTO  ALBUM

Click this link to see blog on;
Google photos has added a couple of new features to help sort your photos.
http://www.androidauthority.com/google-photos-permanent-album-picture-sorting-716611/

  1. Click on the Album
  2. Click on the 3dots to gain access to tools
  3. Choose Edit Album

Hide from Album
Just like the old version of the desktop Picasa, you can hide a photo in the album .  Similar to sorting, just click on the Album, Choose Edit Album , and find the Hide From Albums choice.


Click here to view 


Sharing all the photos from your weekend with friends can be hard: Not everyone uses the same apps, texting can be slow, and email has attachment limits.

Review Of Downloading Pictures And Erasing A Camera Card

Picasa Instruction on Importing Photos from a Camera

Using the Picasa program to import photos from your camera is really simple. Left mouse click on the Import from the Picasa Home screen. Follow the screen instructions. During the process  either create a new folder or select an existing folder to store the photos you’re importing. On the last instruction there is a choice you can make to Leave the card alone or delete the images from the card. 

 https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bw_tdNeIcnueWVBrTEx2VTRhLVk/view?usp=sharing

Use File Explorer?

You can erase photos from your card camera using Windows File Explorer. Locate the card, it will be under the Devices and drives when you open the My PC or This PC . Type either in the search box to quickly get to this panel.

Open the DCIM folder and select the sub folder to delete photos from. I have never had a problem with my camera. But if you read some forums, others have had difficulty.

You can probably get some help from this website on Andoids for your phones or tablets

http://www.androidcentral.com/

 

 

How Do You Add Apps To Your Laptop , Tablet Or Smart Phone? https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1aZpeNl6SvMgpBuIB9NZ1-Ka8gXkmOlJReWpG7Zj06g8/edit?usp=sharing

 

How Can you Add the Record Searchlight App to your Laptop?

You can’t. This type of App is for your tablet or smart phone. You will see this message when you do find any app. It will indicate which device it can be used on. Below is a link to similar information about Tablets and phones.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1rpRq9L3lpRJ331LwSTReJlIcFzHCWZxuM9fsLGOqrI8/edit?usp=sharingIs there a CCleaner app for a tablet or android phone?

 

Solve this problem; iPhone Cant’ Take Anymore Pictures Because the Storage Is Used Up

Deleting  pictures from your Camera Roll, doesn’t’ actually free up space on your iPhone. These same photos are still taking up space in the Albums.    So to regain that space you will need to delete your Albums, as well as photos in your Camera Roll.
1.     Using the iPhone , to  find the Trash can in the Albums , scroll through all the Albums. There will be a Trash Can icon. Click on it.
2.     Select All
3.     Or you can retrieve photos – undelete it.
This action is similar to you emptying your trash can on your desktop or in your eMail program.





August 2016

  
This class is taught by a Member from the Computer User’s group of Redding  http://cugr.apcug.org.  

SEPT CLASSES START THE WEEK OF 9 - 12


August Newsletter


Technology guru Steve Alexander


For some readers of the Record Searchlight might want to find archived articles about windows 10. Here’s that link   


Windows Live cannot send Photo
Have you been affected by the Live Mail account not being able to send photos? This usually means that you were trying to send pictures using the photo email feature. If this is what happened, then the Microsoft Account you're signed in with in Windows Live Mail has probably been upgraded to Outlook Mail and photo email no longer works. You'll find a couple of workarounds in this article: Avoid 'photo email' and send photos by email


Workaround found here:


As an alternative to this you can I simply removed/deleted the “photo album” from my mail message and used “Attach file” to include the single photo I wanted to send.

 

Microsoft Windows 10 had a recent Major update

The Anniversary Update will report itself as version 1607, despite the fact that it technically launched in August instead of July. If you don’t have it yet, try checking for updates in Windows 10’s Settings > Update & Security. You can also start the update manually from Microsoft’s support page here.
“Windows 10” is apparently here to stay, and Microsoft won’t be bumping things up to Windows 11 any time soon. Here’s how to find out what “build” of Windows 10 you have — you can think of it like a service pack level — as well as which edition and version of the operating system you have.
Use the Settings App to find with version you’re using.
Windows 10’s first big update— you’ll see a new version number scheme here. It’ll say “Version 1511 (OS Build 10576.29)”.
The “1511” is the key. This number identifies that you’re using the build of Windows 10 released in November (the 11th month) of 2015. If Microsoft were to release a build of Windows 10 in April (the 4th month) of 2016, its version number would be “Version 1604”.
How To Use Decades –Old Software On A Newer PC
If you have some favorite software and have now upgraded to Windows 10, can you continue to use it?
Yes, if you use the Windows 10 “compatibility mode”, which allows you PC t run software designed for older operating systems. To activate culpability mode , locate the program using File  Explorer ( use to be called Windows Explorer ). On the C drive , click Program files. In the resulting list find the folder with your program. Find the file listed as an “application”.  If you have a windows short-cut icon you can use that instead. Right click that file, click on “properties “. In the next menu, click the capability “ tab.   In the next menu, check the box beside “ run this program in capability mode for “, and from the drop down list pick the Windows menu select which Windows system to run with. At the bottom of the menu click  “OK”. Your program should run properly .

ONE YEAR LATER: DID MICROSOFT LISTEN TO WINDOWS 10 COMPLAINTS?  A year into Windows 10, with a new update on the way, we ask: Did Microsoft listen to the complaints?
After all, Windows 10 is supposed to be “the last version of Windows.” It’s “Windows as a service,” continually updated and fixed by developers who are listening to Windows users and improving things. That’s the promise, anyway. We’ve been using the Windows 10 Anniversary Update for a while now, so let’s see what complaints Microsoft has succeeded (and failed) to deliver on. It will tell how to check you PC to ensure you do have the latest update version.
Go to this website for complete information: http://bit.ly/2azXGP6JTT

There’s an official Microsoft tool that can blacklist Windows updates and driver updates if one is causing a problem.

Tips and Insights to Window 10, iPads and Android phones

Why Do you Need a Microsoft id for Windows 10?

You need a Microsoft account to use the OneDrive folder that stores your files in the Cloud ,  to use Crotana the speaking search feature and to use OneNote a word processor. The Microsoft account will be either, MSN. Hotmail or an Outlook account. Each you create with a password and name.

 

Some Windows 10 Basics

 

How Can You Group the menu in Windows 10?
When you first start-up Windows 10 there are already some groups that Microsoft starts you off with. You can keep these as-is, edit the name, change the apps, re-order the groups, or delete them entirely. It's up to you.
Let's start with moving our groups around. Click Start and then hover over a group title bar such as "Life at a glance." To the right of the group title you'll see an icon that looks like an equals sign.
If you want to change the name of your app group, click on the title. Click on that and then drag to move the group to a new spot in the Start menu. You can really click anywhere on the title bar to move it, but I prefer to focus on the icon on the right since it's an easy way to understand what I'm doing.  When you do that part of the title bar will turn into a text entry box. Delete what's in there by hitting Backspace, type in your new title, hit Enter, and you're done you want to change the name of your app group, click on the title.

How Do You Create a Group on the Start Menu Windows 10?

The easiest method to creating a new group is to first add an App or a Website choice to the start menu. It will appear at the bottom of the Start tiles. Once here, as a new component you simply click on the “down arrow “ which let’s you name this new group. In the Edge Browser, it’s easy to create a new tile. Go to the website you wish to add as a tile , click on the 3dots, choose Pin this Page to Start.
This is so helpful if you wish to jump to a website each day and not be bothered with logging into a browser and finding your web browser’s home page.
To remove a group you have to remove every app inside it and then it will delete automatically.
Here’s a few sites with more information on this subject.

This site has a 8 ways to customize your Start menu