September 2006 Bits of Blue
Contents
1. I can watch my own TV But if I was delayed in some air port that did not have an Internet hotspot like our Tampa International Airport does here in Tampa I was basically out of luck Not any more Enter my latest Smartphone The new Motorola Q Smartphone has many features that I will list down below but one of the abilities that attracted me to it was having a broadband Internet connection anywhere I had telephone service By broadband I mean it typically has an access rate of approximately 500 kb s More than adequate for most things you d want to do on the Internet and plenty fast enough to access my TV at home and play it any where I chose The Motorola Q is a Windows Mobile 5 0 based mobile phone and email device that is small enough to easily fit in your pocket It only weighs 4 ounces and is less than 42 thick and with its QWERTY keyboard you can do many of the functions of a larger com puter like reading Word and Excel files viewing presentations and PDF files handling business VPN and personal email accessing the Internet playing music stream videos etc Personally I think of the Moto Q as being a Blackberry on steroids Whereas the Blackberry is primarily for email you can do so much more with the Moto Q Some of the features are as follows e Dual stereo speakers Bits of Blue September 2006 Windows Media Mobile Player 1 3 Mega pixel camera with flash and digital zoom Video capture and playbac2. Tampa FL 33601 3492 Member Your membership is up for renewal Vendor Your product was teviewed on page _ Minutes Continued from page 7 Liz said there was an interest expressed in eBooks If you wish to access the library eBooks you will need to establish a NetLibrary account Ask your librarian how to access the web page with the ac count creation function In most cases you can enter http www NetLibrary org and use the Create a Free Account Here link Once you have clicked on Create a Free Account you will be prompted to pro vide user information for your account Page prints can be made of PFD formatted eBooks if you desire Liz answered many questions about library services and distributed a handful of written materials telling how to use their system Many services can be ob tained online from your home PC John thanked Elizabeth Mueller for a most informative presenta tion and the members expressed their appreciation We did not have door prizes to raffle so the meeting was concluded at about 8 05 pm The group social ized and shared cookies coffee and bottled water provided by John Witmer and Pepin First Class Mail lt to I 275 Hillsborough Ave TPCUG Meeting Site Pepin Distributing Co 4121 N 50th Street 56th Street 50th Street Columbus Ave
3. brushes that are used for the three tools used most in restoration are enlarged by the P key and made smaller with the E key Your finger on the touch strip allows you to zoom in and out instantly while you are editing The space bar turns any tool you are using into the hand tool allowing you to grab the area that you are editing and move it to the center of the screen as you zoom Having these keys on the tablet is a signifi cant time saver It is so easy to cus tomize the keys that it may be prac tical to change them for specific projects pen and brush strokes Eraser Rubberized grip area A In ri n The pen and the mouse are wire less require no batteries and like Bits of Blue Intuos3 input tools Various input tools are available for your tablet All Intuos3 tools are cordless batteryless and ergonomically designed Each tool also features a unique Tool ID which enables you to work with multiple tools and to customize each tool differently The Intuos3 Grip Pen is a pressure sensitive freehand tool for image editing and creating natural looking DuoSwitch rocker style standard or stroke tip September 2006 the tablet can be customized The only power to the tablet and the tools is through the USB connection The tip of the pen is set to click the top of the rocker switch is set to double click and the bottom of the rocker switch is set to right click All of these and t
4. page 6 available memory e Weight 4 1 ounces Dimensions H x W x D 4 33 x 2 52 x 0 45 inches Display 2 4 inch 320x240 65K TFT Color Silver e Talk Time Up to approximately 4 hours voice and data Standby Time Up to approximately 212 hours e Bluetooth Supports Bluetooth Headset Hands free e Synchronization ActiveSync and AirSync with Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 IrDa infrared Motorola mini USB connector e On device security features include keyboard lock device lock and password authentication to prevent unauthorized use The Pocket PC formerly Windows CE has been around for a few years and I have had a Pocket PC and still do for most of that time Windows Mobile is slightly different was created specifically for cel lular phones and allows you to be able to navigate around the operating system without the need for a stylus as used with a Pocket PC The QWERTY keyboard makes it much easier to send emails and text messages which I rarely did on my previous phones because of the cumbersome fumbling with the keys to create the words I ve only had the Moto Q for a couple of months but it has been well used The standard battery lasts about two days under heavy use If I watch much TV on it I pop in my extended use battery which is good for a few hours Visual Basic for Applications SIG This SIG meets the third Wednesday of the month at 6 30 PM The meeting location varies For information cont
5. ablet features Pen stand Status LED Tablet work surface Identifies the tablet active area Page 4 Tablet Continued from page 3 As seen in the illustration the INTOUS3 6x8 has 4 customizable keys and touch strip controls on each side of the work surface It came bundled with a grip pen with 4 tips a pen stand a five button mouse tab let driver software with user manual and bundled software The bundled software includes Adobe Pho toshop Elements 4 for Windows Adobe Photoshop Elements3 for the Macintosh Corel Painter Essen tials 3 nik Color Efex Pro 2 IE and Wacom Brushes 2 The keys are preprogrammed as Control Shift Alt Space and the touch strip will scroll up and down or zoom in and out All keys and the touch strip are reprogrammable quite easily with a utility pro vided with the driver file One of the things that also set the tablet apart from the standard mouse is that the work surface of the tablet is mapped to the moni tor If you want to go to the upper left corner of the monitor you merely place the pen or tablet mouse in the upper left corner of the work surface The map ping can also be customized if you need to change it The four keys and a touch strip on each side don t sound like much but they become extremely valuable with an application like Photoshop or Photoshop Elements which have keyboard shortcuts for practi cally every operation they perform For instance the
6. act William LaMartin at lamartin tampabay rr com Windows SIG This SIG occupies the first 30 minutes of our monthly regular meeting and is devoted to a general Windows and computing discussion Mary Sheridan moderates the discussion of TV watching In case you are wondering I pay 30 a month for unlimited access to the Internet and all the Internet services over and above the calling plan I chose My hat is off to Motorola and Microsoft for making a very useful tool that fits into my pocket mmm Minutes Continued from page 5 From the home page you can also select Informa tion Gateway to access subscription services and librarian selected web sites Included are 30 subject pages and each links to premium databases which include Tampa history and genealogy links You may choose to click on Library Locations for a complete listing of the HCPL branches and partner sites in adjacent cities and counties Find the branch where the hours size services and location meet your needs Maps are available to help you find the location Enter your zip code to find the nearest li brary Or you may want to check Happenings amp Events which is a newsletter and program guide full of in formation about free library resources programs and events listed in two month increments All is avail able in PDF format for downloading Minutes Continued on page 8 Tampa PC Users Group Inc P O Box 3492
7. ction of book Once you find the item you can place a hold the New York Times dealing with the aftermath of on it but have your library card handy Once you Katrina choose the library where you wish to pick up the item you ll be placed on a list and contacted when http www nytimes com pages national the item 1s available for pick up nationalspecial index html Minutes Continued on page 7 September s Interesting World Wide Web Locations Tampa PC Users Group that s us http www tpcug org Hillsborough Tampa Public Library http www hcple org Be Hidden com Anonymous Surfing http behidden com Some of these links will join the many already on the Links page at our web site where you need only click on the name Page 6 Motorola Q By Larry Anders Librarian Tampa PC Users Group Larry AndersNet com In last month s article I finished telling you about a couple of neat gifts I had received lately One was the Roku Soundbridge for listening to tunes stored on my PC via my wireless network on my stereo system throughout my house The other was the Slingbox which allows me to watch what is playing on my own personal TV in my home anywhere I could connect my notebook computer to an Internet connection I also told you that the only thing negative I found with the Slingbox was that it required an Internet connec tion I travel for a living and having that Slingbox makes traveling a lot more enjoyable because
8. e of the photos require extensive resto ration and a large number of the older slides require at least minor restoration As I started to perform the work it quickly became apparent that I needed help I dug deeper into my favorite Photoshop Elements book by Barbara Brundage She covered the subject well but recommended that anyone who was going to do much restoration and retouching should look at the books by Katrin Eismann I bought Eismann s book Photoshop Restoration and Retouching In the book she states that a pressure sensitive tablet is essential It of course is not essential for infrequent or small jobs but I read a separate paper that she wrote on the subject and she convinced me that not only can you do a better job with a tablet but also you can do it much faster She also thinks that mousing causes repetitive motion injury and that a pen does not If you are Cable interested in the subject there escrsseeaiat oane is a study of mice versus pens _ O the tablet alow at http www wacom com the cable to exit the top or left of comfort ErgonomicStudy pdf the tablet I started looking at graphic tablets and didn t get beyond Wacom It seems that Wacom is to graphic tablets what Pho toshop is to photo editing Wa com has also evidently spent a great deal of time including features that increase the Pho toshop user s efficiency and versatility while editing and enhancing photos The tablets l
9. er errors or misprints could occur from time to time Therefore the use of programs commands functions or anything of a technical nature appearing in this publication will be at your own risk RENEWING YOUR MEMBERSHIP WE CERTAINLY HOPE YOU WILL MAIL YOUR CHECK AND ANY ADDRESS OR NAME CHANGES TO TAMPA PC USERS GROUP PO BOX 3492 TAMPA FL 33601 3492 25 Individual 35 Family 60 Corporate 3 employees 20 each add l employee Go to our web site http www tpcug org and click on the Join link to fill in an online membership application Check the address label for your renewal month Friends of the User Group We acknowledge the following for their support Marshall amp Stevens Pepin Distributing Co Bits of Blue September 2006 Minutes of the August Meeting By Doug Mullis Secretary Tampa PC Users Group dmullis tampabay rr com Bob LaFave started the Windows SIG portion of our meeting at about 6 35 pm by suggesting we install test versions of Windows Vista 1 1 or 2 0 to see if we like it Two members were having problems one with MSN and the other shutting down Windows XP Members offered suggestions for resolving these problems Another member had changed out a memory card and was getting a driver error message that was un clear Bob suggested he review the Event Viewer under Administrative Tools for a better explanation Ed White had two problems having installed Win dows Vista he now gets a mes
10. he eraser can be customized to other functions The pen can use pressure sensitive tools from the application to vary width and opacity with pressure With some applications the pen is also sensitive to tilt The 5 button mouse is ready to use on the tablet if the project you are working with is better handled with a mouse The customizable preset functions are as follows The side buttons are programmed for back and forward movement within an internet browser The right button is set to right click and the left button to click The finger wheel when rolled will scroll up or down and when pressed it is a mid dle click There are many more uses of the Wacom Graphic Tablet The web sites above should answer practi cally all of your questions If you prefer to use a mouse for general navigation pointing and clicking just set aside your Intuos3 pen and place the Intuos3 mouse on the tablet the mouse is cordless and symmetrically designed so you can use it just as easily in your left or right hand Fingerwheel An integrated middle button and rolling wheel that can be used for up and down scrolling in the active window It can also be customized to perform a variety of button functions ogrammable buttons can be customized for the way you like to work Programm September 2006 Bits of Blue Page 5 Minutes Continued from page 2 will get with Mary Sheridan on this need Internet Picture of the Month Next
11. http www tpcug org HPETI BANIHERIIHEMIHARN IEEE SEC LLL kia 7 ih DO a F pr 1 Se Shee ks i aiaa September in Tampa A Monthly Publication of the Tampa PC Users Group Inc Vol 19 No 9 September 2006 Meeting Blain Blair From Microsoft Wednesday September 13 2006 6 30 PM Art Pepin Hospitality Room Pepin Distributing Co 4121 N 50th St Tampa Florida INSIDE THIS ISSUE Meeting Preview Editor s Comments Minutes Wacom Graphics Tablet Links Motorola Q SIG Report Map CONN NWN me Meeting Preview This month Brian Blair from Microsoft will enlighten us with the latest from one of our favorite soft ware companies We will also have the usual half hour Win dows SIG oP DP Editor s Comments By William LaMartin Editor Tampa PC Users Group lamartin tampabay rr com I hope all of you had fun on Labor Day I did not My Road Runner cable connection was down and no repairman was available until 4 5 days after the problem started As I write this I have two more days to wait I do have Internet connec tivity through a dial up connection with EarthLink that I have kept for travel and to maintain my old Netcom email account The dial up connection I receive is 50 6 kbps In the olden days of simple web pages and mostly text based email with no graphics that was pretty good Today with many emails hav ing pictures and web pages loaded wi
12. ist from 99 99 4x5 Graphire entry level tablet to well over 2 000 An LCD monitor on Customizable ExpressKeys Touch Strip controls Note 4x5 A6 tablet models come equipped with ExpressKeys and a single Touch Strip located to the left of the tablet s active area Bits of Blue Page 3 which you can work directly Details and pricing can be found on http www wacom com The Intous line of tablets is recommended for the serious pho tographer or artist Since my project is serious at least to me I bought a WACOM Intous3 6X8 model at CompUSA and received a substantial TPCUG dis count Although I plan to use the tablet primarily as an aid to editing and restoring photos and I will only discuss that part of its utility the tablet has a wide range of applications Wacom describes the capabili ties of the Intous 3 as follows Intuos3 gives you the power to quickly and professionally edit photos and create digital artwork by turning on the full power of Adobe Photoshop Corel Painter and over 100 other leading software applications Among the ac cessories available are a pen with an air brush effect and an ink pen that allows you to write or draw on paper placed on the work area and have the identical drawing or written words appear on the screen Busi ness applications of the tablet are discussed at http www wacom com businessapplications index cfm Tablet Continued on page 4 Intuos3 t
13. k with sound Supports and plays back most popular audio and video formats e 64MB RAM 128 MB Flash memory built in e Removable Mini SD card slot for extended storage of documents and multimedia files e Send and receive photos video clips text and sound e Browse the web with Internet Explorer Mobile e Built in Instant Messaging e View email and attachments documents spread sheets presentations and PDFs e Supports multiple email inboxes POP3 IMAP4 Microsoft Exchange and GoodLink e Manage personal information with Outlook Mo bile Inbox Contacts Calendar and Tasks e SMS Group SMS Short Message Service and Multi media Messaging MMS e Calculator and Alarm Clock e Photo ID Caller e Built in hands free speakerphone with calling con tacts or opening of applications with advanced speech recognition e Virtually unlimited address book dependent on Motorola Continued on page 7 September 2006 Bits of Blue Page 7 Special Interest Groups Microsoft Access SIG This SIG meets the first Tuesday of the month at 6 30 PM The meeting location varies For information contact William LaMartin at lamartin tampabay rr com or Merle Nicholson at merle merlenicholson com Digital Imaging SI G Cancelled until the Fall This SIG meets the fourth Monday of the month at Pepin Dis tributors at 6 30 PM For information contact Mary Sheridan at mcpease mindspring com Motorola Continued from
14. month s speaker will be Blain Barton of Micro soft who will update us on the release of Windows Vista and Office 2007 The month of October is still without a presenter so if anyone has a subject they would like to present let John or Doug know Members were advised that Wade Herman recently passed away He had been a member of TPCUG for the past five years or so There is a nice article on Wade and computing in the August Newsletter done by his friend William LaMartin All of us in TPCUG are going to miss his humor and contributions to our organization Rest in peace Wade At 7 05 John Witmer introduced our speaker for the evening Elizabeth Mueller One of our members New Orleans Don Patzsch had heard a library presentation at the One Year Later Brandon computer group and was impressed Liz is with the Hillsborough Public Library System and told us what their modern library system has to offer us One of a number of photos from New Orleans taken by New York Times photographer Vincent Liz took us to the library home page at http Laforet on his return visit to New Orleans one year www hcplc org and clicked on the Catalog link Us after first photographing the Katrina disaster ing Catalog you can search for items by exact title title keywords author or subject The searched item This image and many more articles and photos can could be a publication video CD DVD or audio be found at the link below to the special se
15. sage there is no driver for a piece of hardware but the device is not identi fied Bob said with Vista dial up modems and video cards are notorious for driver problems Ed was re ferred to the Event Viewer for identification of the device Ed s second problem was with Verizon DSL His computer works fine but friends tell him they cannot get through on his phone He has tested all his phone instruments and did not find the problem Bob suggested he report this to the phone company and have them check his service connection At 6 55 pm Bob relinquished control of the meeting to President John Witmer for the business portion William LaMartin distributed hard copies of the newsletter to those who wanted them John recog nized a standing room crowd this evening Richard Brooks joined our group last month so we welcomed him Richard s dues check is apparently in our mail box which William said needs to be emptied twice a month We need name tags and membership cards for a number of new and renewing members John Minutes Continued on page 5 apcug pare Member of sociation of Personal Computer User Groups September 2006 Wacom Graphics Tablet By Ed Purcell Tampa PC Users Group Edward_J P MSN com I am working on an ambitious project to put about 55 years of photography on DVD s I am also restoring some black and white photos taken in the early 1950 s to be included in the University of Florida archives Som
16. th the same you wait forever to view anything In such situations Macromedia Flash is your enemy I did speed things up a bit by disabling Windows automatic update once I realized that it was run ning I suppose I could walk the neighborhood with my lap top looking for an unencrypted wireless connection October Meeting To be announced Page 2 OFFICERS President John Witmer president tpcug org 949 8007 Vice President Kevan Sheridan kevan tpcug org 988 6480 Treasurer Mike Hodges mphs aol com 962 2114 Secretary Doug Mullis dmullis tampabay rr com 234 9343 Member at Large Mary Sheridan mcpease mindspring com 988 6480 APPOINTED Volunteers Editor William LaMartin lamartin tampabay rr com 251 3817 Librarian Larry Anders Larry AndersNet com 989 9119 Programs Doug Mullis dmullis tampabay rr com 234 9343 Home Page _http www tpcug org Bits of Blue is published by the Tampa PC Users Group Inc a State of Florida registered non profit corporation to provide educational information about personal computer systems to its members Our mailing address is P O Box 3492 Tampa FL 33601 3492 However for business concerning this newsletter Bits of Blue please contact the Editor William LaMartin at 821 S Boulevard Tampa FL 33606 2904 813 251 3817 lamartin tampabay rr com Technical information found in this publication is not necessarily compatible with your hardware and software plus oth
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