01 September 2014
Contents
1. What You ll Learn e Types of computers digital devices e Finding the right Device for you Creating your personal checklist e Mac or PC Android or iPad e Once you bought it now what Shopping Lab e Questions amp Answers e Where to find more information The PC Club will also be conducting a survey to as sess the on going needs of our community Watch your email flyers and the Globe for further infor mation Anyone interested in resuming our Kindle get togethers especially being a helper please email me Nancy Kring Educational Director nancykri hotmail com Please note that when reading this newsletter and you come across a block of blue text that is underlined this is a hotlink Just place your mouse cur sor over the hotlink click the left button and it will take you to a webpage or open your email program to send a message Page 5 The Village News Bits amp Bytes Tech Questions And Answers QUESTION What is FORMAT PAINTER and 2 Now left click on the Format Painter icon how does it work 3 As in step 1 now highlight the text you want to receive the new format and re ANSWER Format painter is a small utility tool lease the mouse button when your selec found in most versions of Microsoft Office tion is completed such as Word Excel Outlook and Power Always remember that if you fail to achieve Point Somewhere in the upper right hand the desired results pres2. a supported App on their mobile device Chromecast s basic features are as follows 1080p output video resolution Wi Fi 802 11b g n USB powered Compatible with Android and iOS devices The minimum system requirements needed to take advantage of Chromecast are as fol lows HDTV with HDMI input Wi Fi 802 11b g n network For use with a Tablet or Smartphone Android OS 2 3 and higher Apple OS iOS 6 and higher For use with a computer Windows 7 and higher Mac OS 10 7 and higher Chromecast works with devices you already own including Android and Apple tablets and smartphones It also works with the Chrome Browser for Windows and Mac A Browser with the Chromecast extension allows you to send the contents of a Browser Tab to your HDTV allowing you to experience photos vid eos and music on your HDTV It turns any TV with an HDMI input into a smart TV albeit on ly as smart as the Chromecast device Page 9 tainment on your living room HDTV however currently it seems to be limited to Netflix Hu lu plus not Hulu YouTube Google Play TV amp Movies and Google Music Indications are that many others such as Pandora HBO Go Vimeo and Redbox are in the pipeline You will need an account with any of the pay ser vices such as Netflix or Hulu plus YouTube is free so far Chromecast is packaged in a very neat com pact box Included in the box are the Chromecast device it looks like a flash memory d
3. mobile device first With this done set up was very easy Google s uses the term cast to indicate streaming The cast icon appears in the tab let App or in the Chrome browser in order to enable cast ing to the Chromecast device The cast icon is a rectangle with a symbol in the lower left corner that looks like a Wi Fi symbol Using a tablet the Chromecast App is used in conjunction with YouTube or other Chromecast enabled App such as Netflix After you start YouTube or Netflix on the tablet touch the cast icon towards the top of the screen A window will open to allow selection of the tablet display or the Chromecast device that has been discov ered Select the Chromecast device and the Page 10 YouTube video will be shown on the HDTV hosting the Chromecast device The tablet acts as a controller to direct the video audio from the source to the Chromecast device for use on the TV Could it be any easier Return to this window to return YouTube back to the tablet display Google has set up a website at https support google com chromecast for product information and it includes some very good directions for using Chromecast This site is a very good Help resource for getting started with using or just learning about Chromecast s capabilities Google has indicated that YouTube Netflix and Hulu Plus are just the beginning Many others have voiced their support and many indep
4. Members and Officers Bob Sellards President John Huber Vice President Barbara Harris Treasurer Lynn Brown Secretary Robin Nahas Membership Don Beckhart Programs Chairman John Huber Workshop Coordinator John Griffin Co Systems Administrator Jerry Moore Co Systems Administrator Nancy Kring Education Chair Sandy Rosen Member Communications Michael Taylor Publicity Chairperson Anne Clark Webmaster Jerry Moore Newsletter Editor NEED HELP Please consider visiting our PC Workshop located on the 3rd floor of the Community Center Hours are Monday Friday 10 4 and Saturday 10 1 There are always helpful supervisors on duty Special Interest Groups In addition to classes the Learning Center also hosts short Special Interest Group SIG learning sessions These sessions fo cus on a particular subject of interest do not require any enrollment and are free SIG sessions are less formal and have open question and answer periods SIG present ers include PC Club members who share their knowledge experience and interests as well as selected outside sources The SIG presentations are open to all residents of Laguna Woods Village Since room capacity is 55 please come early to ensure a seat Be sure to visit the club website at www thepcclub org for a current listing of SIG meetings planned or scheduled Meeting Schedule Regular meetings of the Laguna Woods Vil lage PC Club are scheduled for the s
5. arn on your device Un fortunately there isn t a flu shot that one can get that gives us the desired knowhow and confidence Don t hesitate to ask our Volunteers at the PC Club for input and advice as you continue on your journey of learning BTW it does you little good to complain that they the PC software and hardware indus tries are making everything so complicated and diffi cult that it s not worth the trouble any longer Don t throw in the towel you can enjoy technology and benefit from its ownership and use Hint as you tackle your learning curve attempt to go from simple to complex general to specific Just as a youngster even though quite bright and moti vated would be dismayed if his first ever introduc tion to mathematics was Advanced Calculus you should realize that you may need to start near the beginning and work your way up to the level of profi ciency and knowhow that you desire apcug Member Of The Association Of Personal Computer User Groups http www apcug net The Village News Bits amp Bytes is an electronic publication for members of the Laguna Woods Village Computer Club It s pub lished and distributed during the months of January March May July September and November Managing Editor Jerry Moore Editorial Staff Pat Burr Judy Nelson Moore Bob Sellards Village News Bits amp Bytes is your newsletter Its objective is to serve every member If
6. changes the last user has made are erased and the standard con figuration is reloaded This means that any programs you have load ed username passwords you have entered and records of web sites you have visited are wiped clean and your privacy is protect ed That s the good news The bad news is that once a week each of these twenty three com puters must be unfrozen to download and install Windows critical security patches and then refrozen to save the new updat A Message From Ihe Editor ed configuration On occasions where there are large volumes of security updates this process can require as much as 4 5 hours and must be scheduled to not inter fere with ongoing classes being held in the Learning Center Since all of the computers in the Learn ing Center are configured as dual boot for Windows 7 or 8 this long involved update process must occur twice once for each Win dows version Consequently this weekly activity often requires mul tiple people working more than one day Your club would gladly welcome any volunteers who would like to learn more about this weekly up date activity and perhaps assist in the weekly process In addition the club is actively investigating alternative methods to streamline and automate this process using additional hardware or software If you have any expertise in this area or suggestions on how to im prove the process your contribu tions would be grea
7. complex steps e f you could watch the replay of a previous lec ture and demonstration of the above but with out the opportunity to ask questions or request a repeat of a point or step would this do the job e f the manufacturer of the product offers live support a chat b 800 c E mail and you could have access to their expertise while the product is under warranty is this a suitable satisfactory approach Remember you ll be able to work at home write down your issues and questions then contact the Help Desk Would this eventually lead you to the finish line e Some of us value the personal attention and hand holding that can be had by hiring a tutor or coach Many are available throughout Sou California and you ll find numerous resources online but generally without the personal con tact see below Page 3 the our it if e It would be irresponsible NOT to mention blindingly obvious mentioned before in Club s Newsletter google it or Bing you ve discovered Microsoft s entry into the realm of search very potent Remember you can narrow your results by inserting qualifiers a book a class a video lecture paid tutorials blogs etc Most of these avenues are readily available to us we need only to make a plan and fulfill the steps to real ize the benefits and enjoyment of computers and computing The key element is ensuring that you set aside the time to work and le
8. econd Tuesday of each month except June July August and December Meetings are held in the main lounge of Clubhouse 7 and begin at 7 00 PM Call 597 4659 for bus service In addition all club members are welcome to attend board meetings gt see below We Need You Get active with the computer club We re always seeking members willing to contribute their time and expertise Please feel free to attend a meeting of our board and learn more about the oppor tunities to participate Board meetings are held on the first Monday of every month at 3 30 PM in the Community Center first floor Spruce Room Page 2 The Village News Bits amp Bytes Message From The President continued Continued from page 1 us the payoff we want As an example you purchase a tablet and don t know where to start it doesn t matter which platform Android Apple or MS Win dows e fthere s a User s Manual can you read it tab let in hand and achieve some success in a matter of a few sessions e f you find the User s Guide lacking and or con fusing can you benefit from buying and reading a well written book or tracking down a series of published articles in the industry that describe the functions and use of your device e Would you benefit more by taking a course ei ther live or online that presents an overview of the device and explains the beginning steps hands on followed by more detailed instruction and
9. endent developers have started to de velop Apps for this new device It s only a matter of time before Chromecast has many new uses This article courtesy of Phil Sorrentino Past President Sarasota PCUG Florida December 2013 issue PC Monitor www spcug org philsorr at yahoo com The Village News Bits amp Bytes Welcome New Members Margaret Byrne Tsai Hsing Chen Astrid Feldstein Joani Gibbons Phyllis Henson Richard Johnston Hong S Kang Jane S Kang Sang Ja kim Young Kwon Mary Maillefer Mary Ann Rucinski Constance Shaw Dawn Stanley Dadria Tillman Emil Treeson The Village News Bits amp Bytes Computer Club Membership Information BENEFITS OF PC CLUB MEMBERSHIP e Informative free monthly meetings with eligibility for door prizes e Newsletters geared to Senior PC users free and first via email e Discount on PC classes e Representation at the national Senior s Computer User Groups Association e Access to Club s Lending Library of Computer Books Manuals and PC Magazines e Periodic special classes just for Members e First to receive any new useful information emailed periodically e First to know of events involving other Village Technology Clubs Camera Video and Macintosh e Members dues allow us to maintain a state of the art workshop and learning center Best 10 00 you ll spend for any Village Club Membership for what you get LWVPC Club Laguna Woods Village PC Club 10 expi
10. evice with an HDMI connector an HDMI extension cable for hard to reach HDMI connections a micro USB to USB cable to supply power to the device a power sup ply adapter if a convenient USB port is not available and a tiny 14 page product infor mation pamphlet The Getting Started di rections are printed on the inside of a swing out cover and are clear and simple Chromecast plugs into your TV s HDMI port while the power is supplied by connecting the devices micro USB port to a USB port on the TV if available or to the external power sup ply that plugs into ac power recommended Because Chromecast accomplishes its magic using your Local Area Network aka Wi Fi you will need to enter the password to your Wi Fi network during the setup process The Setup Continued on page 10 The Village News Bits amp Bytes Chromecast continued Continued from page 9 in a nutshell is simply Plug the device into your TV Connect it to your Wi Fi and let it do its thing The setup is really easy to do and it took only a few minutes although the TV screen did go dark for a few tense moments while the Chromecast was rebooting leaving an uneasy feeling until the ready to cast screen appeared Once Chromecast was ready to cast streaming from an Android tablet or the Chrome browser was easily ac complished Note It is a good idea to follow Google s di rections to download the Setup App on to your
11. ifferent devices These are after all the ways we ve chosen to enjoy computing experiences and benefit from their use 01 September 2014 We will each need to determine what level of knowhow comfort and exper tise is required to attain the payoff we need and expect That presents a chal lenge We have multiple choices as to where and how we ll obtain adequate knowledge guidance and assistance It s well known that people process and ab sorb information in very different ways Educators must take multiple courses in Learning Theory before graduation and certification You as a student may have realized at a fairly early age in your own educational development that you seemingly benefited most from lectures or reading coupled with either individual or group activity to reinforce your newly acquired knowledge Others though might have been very quick to pick up new knowledge or skill after seeing a demonstration or enactment of a step or several steps that lead to a desired result It s the same today with these technological devices and the need to learn and use them You needn t strug gle down one path if it s going to lead nowhere in terms of you acquiring knowledge and a reasonable comfort level with the device Many options ex ist that offer similar and sometimes overlapping information but for most of us there are at most 1 2 paths that give Continued on page 3 The Village News Bits amp Bytes Board
12. res December 31 2015 MEMBERSHIP FORM Please Print Clearly Must be a resident of Laguna Woods Village Date Cash____ Check No Check one New Member ___ Renewal __ Last Name First Name Phone Address LWV Address Unit Mailing Address if different Email Address please print clearly Please make S10 check payable to PC Club Place check in Membership Mailbox in Workshop 3rd floor Admin Bldg Or mail to LWVPC Club Attn Robin Membership P O Box 3063 Laguna HILLS CA 92654 Non Profit Laguna Woods Village PC Club Your PC Club is a non profit organization dedicated to helping residents improve their computer skills and get more enjoyment from their computers Section 501 c 3 Tax ID 42 1645625 Page 12
13. sing Ctrl Z will corner of your screen you will see a tiny paint undo what you just did brush symbol that looks like this QUESTION How do I use a wild card when T performing a search for files on my comput File Message Insert or b Cut Calibri ANSWER In Windows 7 when you click on Pin the Start icon a search box looking like this CODY Ps should pop up 3 B Z Format Painter gt All Programs Clipboard Search programs and files P What format painter will do is copy a desired fystar aj Cc 11 handy tips text format including font style font size col or justification and other characteristics from If you type flower in the search box any Paste one location to another file containing the word flower will be found Here s an example of how to use format If you typed flower then only file names painter that begin with the word flower will be 1 Highlight a block of text that has the for found mat you want to copy by left clicking your mouse cursor at the beginning of the de QUESTION What is a hashtag sired text block While still holding down the left mouse button drag your mouse ANSWER A word or unspaced phrase pre cursor until all of the desired text block is fixed with the sign to tag relevant data In highlighted and then release the mouse browsers if you type twitter com Ferguson button you will see posts related to this event Page 6 The Village News Bits amp B
14. tly appreciat ed CLICK HERE to email me if you have any comments or sugges tions The Village News Bits amp Bytes Cyber Ed Corner Hello from your Educational Director Hello again from your Educational Director hope everyone is all refreshed from the summer off and ready to get into the swing of things for September Session 4 registration will be September 5 and 6 with classes starting September 15 and ending Octo ber 17 Registration for the class in the Korean Lan guage will be September 4 Watch your email for fur ther information or check the PC club website thepcclub org Handouts will also be available in the PC Workshop and in the various Clubhouses We are still in need of teachers If you have a special area of expertise and would be willing to share please contact me We are open to suggestions for new and different classes of interest to our Village residents A lot of our classes have curriculum al ready developed so new teachers don t have to start from scratch The Educational Department s purpose is to serve the PC computer needs of the Village community We welcome ideas for classes you would like to see us offer Email me at nan We also are cykri hotmail com with suggestions looking for teaching assistants Don t know what to buy for your computing needs Melony Myers will present a SIG on September 27 in the PC Club Learning Center from 10 AM to 12 Noon to help you decide
15. www thepcclub org e Meeting Schedule Page 2 e Board Members Page 2 e Special Interest Groups SIGs Page 2 In This Issue President s Mes sage continued Message From The Editor Cyber Ed Corner Tech Questions amp Answers The Jeopardy Answer lIs Chromecast Welcome New Members Membership Ap plication Form 11 12 The Village News Bits Not sure why but some thing struck me recently we all probably know the phrase jack of all trades master of none suspect most people interpret this the same way and it has a fairly negative connotation These days though we who are trying to remain abreast of computing and computers on multiple devices i e a traditional PC desktop laptop Chrome Book tab let or Smart Phone clearly need to at least have an understanding the knowledge base and some competence with more than one format If for exam ple we ve chosen to have a standard PC a tablet and a Smart Phone for the different needs pursuits and tasks that we ll undertake we need not only to adapt to each at different times fre quently in the same day but to have a fair grasp of both the hardware and software workings of each This struck me as becoming a jack of all trades and while perhaps it does not require complete Mastery it s quite necessary to at least be comfortable and proficient enough to warrant having and using these 3 d
16. you have a suggestion for an article for publication or if you would like information about a specific topic please contact the Laguna Woods Village Computer Club President or the newsletter edi tors This newsletter is a wonder ful opportunity for all of us to learn Guidelines Articles 1 must be submitted to the Managing Editor no later than the 15th day prior to the month of publication 2 should be no longer than 1 200 to 1 500 words approximately three col umns although longer articles may be published 3 may be edited by staff for clarity spelling grammar and space available Articles should be relevant to the membership of the Laguna Woods Village PC Club The choice of articles to be included in any issue is solely the prerogative of the Editorial Staff Page 4 The Village News Bits amp Bytes In addition to serving your club as news letter editor I m also functioning as co system administrator responsible for the maintenance of all the equipment in the Learn ing Center To protect your priva cy all of these computers as well as those in the workshop are run ning a software program known as Deep Freeze What this pro gram does is stabilize the config uration of each computer by stor ing a standardized configuration of all installed software as well as the content and location of desktop icons and other user settings Eve ry time a computer is restarted all
17. ytes In Chromecast is a new device from Google aimed at getting your on line entertainment on to your living room TV or any TV with an HDMI input For video streaming Chromecast may be similar to Apple TV and chrome directly to your computer via HDMI and then go directly to the websites with the computer This is not usually convenient because of the locations of the computer and TV and the ca bles and wires needed to set this up Roku devices though haven t used either of Chromecast is small and it plugs directly into these Chromecast is an exciting device for both consumers and developers alike be cause it offers a new inexpensive 35 and simple way to stream entertainment from a Website or a computer to your living room big screen HDTV By the way a less elegant way to accomplish this is to connect your TV Page 8 the back of your TV keeping it completely out of sight Wikipedia adds Chromecast is a digital me dia streaming adapter developed by Google The device a 2 83 inch dongle plays audio Continued on page 9 The Village News Bits amp Bytes Chromecast continued Continued from page 8 video content on a high definition television Chromecast allows you to view on line enter by streaming it via Wi Fi from the Internet or local network Users select the media to play on their television from the Google Chrome web browser on a personal computer or from
18. ytes The Jeopardy Answer Is What The final question on Jeopardy on its Sep tember 26 episode was based on the cate gory Internet The question was The ani mal for which this computer program is named is actually a red panda Do you have any idea what that program is When tell you the answer you will shake your head as did and you will say What That s not right just as did Are you ready The answer is What is Fire fox the internet browser Fire fox in Chinese is another name for the red panda In fact Mozilla launched a website called Firefox Live in November 2011 to educate and raise awareness of the endangered red panda species Live videos of three baby red pandas Berna dette Dolly and Winston that were shel tered at the Knoxville Zoo were streamed on the Firefox Live website until March 2012 When the babies reached maturity they were sent to breed and become part of the animal families at the Virginia Zoo Norfolk Virginia and the Zoo Boise Boise Idaho Subsequently the Firefox Live web site was retired If you d like to find a red panda in a zoo near you go to http redpandanetwork org red_panda find a red panda near you By Linda Gonse Editor amp Webmaster Or ange County PC Users Group CA October 2013 issue Nibbles amp Bits www orcopug org editor at orcopug org fe Page 7 The Village News Bits amp B
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