Diablo Blue

The Newsletter of the Diablo Valley PC Users Group

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MAY 6, 2010 MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT

Social Networking: Posting Videos and More
Presenter: Rebecca Mildwurm, Barry Brown, and Nick Chase, DVPC

You might recognize that this meeting topic seems a little familiar. That's because Rebecca came down with a cold or the flu or some other contageous disease and felt it was better if she didn't infect the entire DVPC membership in attendance at our meeting on April 1. She also claims that this was not an April Fool's joke, just bad Karma. Or whatever. Anyway, she's back for our May 6 meeting with the same topic and presentation, ably assisted by Nick Chase and Barry Brown.

Speaking of Barry, here's a huge thank-you for his excellent presentation on of Photoshop Elements 8, the latest version of this leading consumer photo editing software. He stepped in at the last minute at the April meeting and everyone enjoyed his demonstration.

YouTube. Facebook. MySpace. Friendster. Twitter. Social networking seems to be taking over the internet. Certainly young people, from pre-teens through young adults, are involved in this phenomenon. And now it's spreading to adults and seniors at a much faster rate than its current growth in the youth markets. Of course, that's due to the relative numbers of participants in each age group. But it shows that adults and seniors are attracted to the method of communication and community that social networking sites provide.

The topic of this month's DVPC meeting is Social Networking: Posting Videos and More. This is something we're all accustomed to; everyone seems to watch YouTube videos on a wide range of subjects, from singing cats through political bombast. What's interesting about YouTube and other social networking sites is that it's easy to post a video. Anyone can do it. And at our May 6 meeting we're going to show you exactly how to do it, from tips about the best way to take the video, showing how to edit it so it's ready for posting, and then actually posting it on YouTube. Then we'll show how you can track how many YouTube visitors view your video, and describe ways about how you can attract visitors to view what you've posted.

This month's meeting will be particularly fun, interesting, and informative. We'll see you on May 6, 2010 at Diablo Valley College.

NOTE: Diablo Valley College has parking permit dispensers that take dollar bills as well as nickels, dimes, quarters, and dollar coins, and will at some time in the future take credit cards. Note that these parking permit dispensers do not make change.

Where and When We Meet

DVPC monthly meetings are held on the first Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. at Diablo Valley College In Pleasant Hill, California, on the Main Campus located at 321 Golf Club Road. We meet in room H107 in the Humanities Building. See the campus map on the About DVPC page for driving directions, parking information, and how to get to room H107. Remember: there's a $2.00 parking fee, payable at the ticket machines in each lot. These ticket machines take dollar bills and quarters, but do not give change so be sure to bring correct bills and/or quarters to buy your parking ticket. Place the ticket face up on the driver's side of your dashboard.

We have a Networking Table from 6:30 to 7:00; if you have something to sell or trade, need technical help, or just want to exchange views, visit the Networking Table. The regular monthly meeting starts at 7:00 p.m. with Random Access where you can ask questions or report on technical problems, followed by a presentation by our guest speaker. Also, as usual, we'll have SIG news and some of our usual great door prizes.

Driving Directions:
680 Northbound:
Exit at Willow Pass Road
At the end of the exit ramp turn left onto Willow Pass Road
Continue on Willow Pass Road to the second signal and
turn right onto Contra Costa Blvd.

680 Southbound:
Exit at Concord Ave.
At the end of the exit ramp turn left on Contra Costa Blvd.

Direction into the Campus:
Continue on Contra Costa Blvd. to the signal at Golf Club Road and turn into Golf Club Road. At the second entrance into the campus turn left then immediately right to parking lot 7. Turn left into lot 7. Park (but don't use parking spaces that are reserved for faculty and staff only), then purchase a parking permit (see Parking Fees below) and put it on your dashboard. Click on this link (www.dvpc.org/about.html) to see:
> a detailed DVC map showing parking and our meeting room
> a map for driving to DVC
> an aerial view of the DVC campus

Parking fees:
On the Pleasant Hill campus parking permits are $2.00 per day. You can purchase permits at the parking permit machines marked with a red star on the maps on the DVPC website. Parking permit machines take nickels, dimes, quarters, and dollar coins. Note that these parking permit dispensers do not make change. DVC parking permits are required Monday through Friday at all times that classes are in session. That includes the times that DVPC meetings are held! Do not park in metered or faculty/staff spaces.

You need to purchase a parking permit and place it face up on your dashboard so it is clearly visible through the windshield. If you attend classes at DVC and have a campus parking permit, you can use it when you attend DVPC meetings.

Some members park (for free) in the College Park High School lot across Viking Drive from the DVC campus. Do so at your own risk!

Parking violations:
Be sure to purchase a parking permit! Fines range from $35 for parking in a regular space without a permit, to over $275 for illegally parking in a space reserved for the handicapped.

Parking alternatives:
Some members carpool and share the parking fee; they park at Sun Valley Mall, have dinner at one of the many restaurants in the mall, then take one car to the meeting. Some members park in the lots in front of College Park High School, which is across Viking Drive from DVC. Remember: if you decide to use any of these parking alternatives, you do so at your own risk!

Diablo Blue Password Access
by Ron Ogg, DVPC

You will need the monthly password to access the current issue of the newsletter. If you are a paid-up member of DVPC you'll receive an email message, usually on the Weekend prior to the meeting, with the password.

As each month's issue is uploaded, it's placed in a password protected folder on dvpc.org. When you click on the link to go to the newsletter, a dialog box will be displayed asking for the password from the email message. The password is case-sensitive; either copy it from the email message or make sure you type it correctly.

As we add the current month's newsletter, the password on the prior month's newsletter will be removed so anyone coming to the DVPC website can access older issues of Diablo Blue.

If you have any problems accessing a password protected newsletter, please email webbie@dvpc.org.

Watch for Updates!
by Ron Ogg, DVPC

With our new method of producing and publishing the monthly Diablo Blue newsletter, we can easily add updates to each month's issue. If an article is updated,the word Updated will be added in red

When we add a new article "mid-month" the entire entry will be shown in red in the Table of Contents.

DVPC Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
by Tom Krauss, DVPC

One or two of you may have noticed that I have been rather quiet of late. There are two main reasons for this. One is a matter of calendars. My calendar has not aligned well with DVPC’s and I have missed several recent Board and general meetings. (On the plus side I did make it on time to one of the Board meetings several months ago only to discover there was no meeting.)

The second reason for my lack of communication is that I have had little to communicate. By not attending Board meetings I have been deprived of a priceless source of material, some of it vaguely interesting. I have missed the status reports on Alan’s reconstruction project and the opportunity for hands-on experience with every new gadget as soon as it rolls off the assembly line and is delivered to Alan. I have not been privy to Charlie’s egregious puns and technical discourses on bandwidth. (Okay, so that’s a blessing, not a curse.) I have not been able to draw on Barry’s extensive knowledge of digital image manipulation and twisted sense of humor. I don’t know if Ron has really gained control of his “Fry’s piece of ****” computer or how his testing of the pre-beta version of the next release of Microsoft Office is going. Without Mel’s misadventures with technology to draw on I can barely fill two paragraphs of meeting minutes. My ability to change the subject and produce a sense of mental whiplash has been seriously diminished without the inspiration and example Nick’s meandering non sequitur stories. And I have missed Peggy’s focus and passion for DVPC: a lone voice crying in the Board meetings.

I guess by now you figured it out. I missed another Board meeting.

So let’s talk a bit about technology.

My grandson is closing in on three years of age. Visiting him and his parents the other day I was impressed to see that Jacob has his own keyboard. This is in part a ploy on my son’s part to contain the crumbs and spills to one keyboard. But there is an additional safety dimension. There are very few keys to press other than letters and numbers. This tends to prevent sudden and mysterious system crashes and other sorts of digital damage. The keys are large, clearly labeled and colorful: the letters are green and the numbers orange. Or maybe the other way around. Either way, another learning opportunity!

I was thinking this would be good for the older generation. A really older generation. Like some of our Board members. Color coded, large print keyboard minus the usual 79 function keys that you’re afraid to try because you can’t remember what they do (if you ever knew) and you might inadvertently wipe your hard drive clean or set a password or who knows what. I’m thinking of getting one of these keyboards myself. For when Jacob visits — not for me to use.

Eliminating Obsolete Device Drivers
by Vinny La Bash, Sarasota Personal Computer Users Group, Florida

This article has been obtained from APCUG with the author’s permission for publication by APCUG member groups; all other uses require the permission of the author (vlabash (at) comcast.net).

Device drivers are programs that are designed to control (drive) specific types of hardware (devices) that are attached to your computer. These devices can be attached through wires or by wireless connections. No matter how the device is attached you need a program to tell it how to interact with the computer. An operating system such as Windows comes with myriads of device drivers built into it so when you bring your new computer home, attach your printers, external drives, etc., most of them work fine.

The caveat is that drivers are hardware dependent and operating system specific so your external CD-ROM, which worked flawlessly under Vista, may not work with Windows 7 until you install an updated device driver designed for the new OS.

Every operating system directs device drivers to communicate with their devices through the computer bus or a communications subsystem. It is a process which is largely invisible to those trying to get work done on the computer, much like the internal workings of an automobile are largely invisible to a driver trying to get from home to the grocery store.

The invisibility of device drivers is a good thing when everything is working smoothly, but it tends to hinder troubleshooting when trying to track down the cause of a problem. When you upgrade or change hardware, Windows doesn’t usually delete the old device drivers. Sometimes these obsolete programs can cause hardware conflicts. Seemingly unrelated quirky behavior on the part of the computer can often be traced to a no longer used device driver.

Resolving device driver problems in Windows can be difficult. In this article we’re going to focus on finding outdated device drivers and eliminating them from your system.

Manually searching for device drivers on a Windows system can be frustrating, time-consuming, and mostly a waste of effort. Conveniently for us, Microsoft has provided a way to locate unused device drivers and remove them.

The directions herein are designed specifically for Windows 7, but the general process will work for Vista and XP. There are slight variations in the process with each of the operating systems; just be careful when reading each screen. Let’s get on with it.

The Device Manager as it comes from Microsoft is not set up to display device drivers that are no longer being used. The Device Manager has to be configured to show obsolete drivers so we can remove them. You need to add something called a special Windows Environment Variable. This is a text string that contains a path, file name or drive. Programmers refer to this as a system property. We don’t really care what they call it as long as it works.

1. From the Start Menu, right-click on Computer.
   
   
2. Select Properties at the bottom of the list.
   
   
   
   
3. From the System window, select Advanced system settings.
   
   
4. From the System Properties dialog box, select the Environment Variables button. (See illustration)
   
   
5. The Environment Variables dialog box contains two panels, User variables and System variables.
   
   
6. Click the New… button.
   
   
7. In the New System Variable dialog box, type devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices
   
   
8. Type 1 in the Variable Value text box.
   
   
9. Close all the dialog boxes.

In most cases there is no need to restart the system. Let’s test the results of our labor.

1. Access the Start Menu.
   
   
2. Right click Computer.
   
   
3. Select Manage.
   
   
4. When the Computer Management window appears, select Device Manage
   
   
5. Open the View menu and select Show Hidden Devices.

From now on whenever you open a branch within the Device Manager tree structure and device icons are "grayed out" or appear faded, these are the unused drivers. You can safely delete them. Whenever you add, remove or change your hardware configuration, always check for left over drivers and avoid problems.

MP3 Tag - A Useful Utility
by Phil Sorrentino, Sarasota Personal Computer Users Group, Florida

This article has been obtained from APCUG with the author’s permission for publication by APCUG member groups; all other uses require the permission of the author (president (at) spcug.org).

As I have said in the past, “Utilities are usually small programs that are intended to do a specific task or a small range of tasks.” And I have also directed you to the SPCUG Monitor Computer Buffet, where you can learn about various free utilities (and even find a website from where you can download the utility). However, keep in mind that when you download something from the internet, you could get something you were not expecting; so be very careful. With that said, I’d like to discuss a free utility that allows you to modify the MP3 Tag information that is used by MP3 players like Windows Media Player or iTunes.

The reason you might want to use an MP3 Tag utility is because these types of media players depend on the Tag information to organize the tunes they find in your music folders. If the Tag information is not what you expect, the tune will be put in a location that might make it difficult for you to find. It doesn’t matter what the file name is, the tune will be put in a sequence depending on the Tag information, only. Is it “The Beatles”, or “Beatles”, “The Kingston Trio”, or “Kingston Trio”? When I put all my tunes together, I found both versions of artist names. Also, sometimes the tune comes from a compilation of artists. In this case it probably goes into the “Various Artists” category, instead of the “artist’s name” category.

MP3Tag is a free metadata editor that supports the MP3 audio format as well as many other formats such as AAC, FLAC, MPC, OGG, MP4, WMA, and others. It runs under Microsoft Windows XP and Vista (and probably Windows 7). MP3Tag allows the user to modify the ID3 tag data that is created along with the MP3 file when a tune is initially created, or ripped from a CD. It allows information such as the title, artist, album, track number, or other information about the audio portion of the file to be stored in the file itself. By the way, there are many MP3 Tagging utilities available, just Google MP3 Tag and you’ll see all the possibilities.

This may be too much detail, but there are two unrelated versions of ID3: ID3v1 and ID3v2. (If this is too much detail, skip this paragraph entirely.) ID3v1 was the original attempt at capturing data about the tune. ID3v2 followed shortly after and is very different from the v1 version. ID3v2 is fairly complex, but suffice it to say that it includes all of the pertinent information, and then some, relating to the specific tune. ID3v2 has been modified and improved over the past few years and is currently at ID3v2.4. For those of you who asked “What the heck is metadata?, here is a brief discussion that comes from Wikipedia. Metadata (or sometimes metainformation) is “data about other data”, of any sort in any media. An item of metadata may describe an individual datum, or content item, or a collection of data including multiple content items and hierarchical levels. In data processing, metadata provides information about, or documentation of, other data managed within an application or environment. This commonly defines the structure or schema of the primary data. For example, metadata would document data about data elements or attributes, (name, size, data type, etc.) and data about records or data structures (length, fields, columns, etc.) and data about data (where it is located, how it is associated, ownership, etc.). Metadata may include descriptive information about the context, quality and condition, or characteristics of the data. And there you have a description of metadata.

MP3Tag is very easy to use. First, I have created a folder called “FixThese” in my “MP3Music” folder, where I put any tunes that I think need to have their ID3 tags modified. Then I setup MP3Tag to use this folder. This way, I do my work in a specific folder so I don’t upset anything in the folders that contain all my music. Also, it is easier to work with a folder that has a handful of files rather than thousands of tune files. (The folder to be used is setup by clicking “File” and then selecting “Change Directory”, then navigating to the directory of your choice, “D:\MP3Music\FixThese” in this case.)

The MP3Tag window has two panes. The right-hand pane shows the files in the designated folder. The left-hand pane shows each of the specific ID3 data items that can be modified. (By the way, default values can be setup for each of these items, but I have left the default to “keep”, so that I preserve the values when a tune is selected. These default values can be setup in the Tools-Options-Tag Panel window.) When you select a tune in the right-hand pane, the appropriate values show up in the ID3 tag items on the left. Once the tune selection is made, the values on the left can be changed to your desired values. In the example shown above, the tune “Ventures – Hawaii Five-O.mp3” has been selected. The Title is “Hawaii Five-O – The Ventures” which is the file name. The title of the tune should be only “Hawaii Five-O”, so I would change the title to be such. The Artist: name is “Various – Adult” which I would want to change to “Ventures”, or possibly “The Ventures” if that is how you are referring to this artist. Other information such as Album, Year, and Track may be correct as indicated and will probably be left alone. Genre is an item that is not as well defined as the other tags and therefore I have found it to be less useful. Genre has some general meaning but the meanings may vary a lot from person to person. There are some fairly specific meanings for genre such as “Rock & Roll”, “Country”, “Classical”, but many other meanings are in the grey areas such as “Popular” and “Easy Listening”. If you want to employ this tag to any degree of usefulness, you’ll have to make your own definitions and then categorize all your tunes according to these definitions. Otherwise, you’ll get whatever the recording studio used for their definitions of genres. After you are satisfied with the changes you have made, click “File” and then select “Save tag” or just click on the icon that looks like a floppy disk, to save the tag information with the tune.

MP3Tag is a useful utility if you are accumulating a large music collection and you have some specific ideas about how you would like the tunes to be organized. MP3Tag has a lot of additional features. I have described the ones that, I feel, are basic to organizing a music collection. Music collections have a way of growing in all directions and using an MP3 Tag utility is a way of controlling that growth.

Using Skype
by Mike Kearns, Computer Club of Green Valley, Arizona

This article has been obtained from APCUG with the author’s permission for publication by APCUG member groups; all other uses require the permission of the author (bmkearns1 (at) yahoo.com).

Using free Skype software on your computer allows you to make calls over the internet to others who have the service. It's easy to download and works with most, if not all, computers. Try this great way to keep in contact with your kids, grandchildren, siblings and close friends.

You need three things to make it happen:

1. A high-speed internet connection.

2. A web cam, and I recommend Logitech. You can buy a good camera (with install disk) at Wal-Mart for around $50. Newer computers have web cams built in. Each camera requires some adjustments for brightness, contrast and sound, but they are usually easy to work with.

3. You need to download the free program by going to Google and typing "free Skype download." The PC version is 4.2, and the latest Mac version is 2.8.

When you download the program you will be asked what Skype name you wish to use. You can choose any name you want. If you pick an unusual name, it is a good idea to let your Skype friends know, because Skype offers a directory to locate their users all over the world.

When you attempt the first contact with another Skype user, the person receiving the call has the option of accepting or rejecting the call. If you attempt to contact someone who doesn't know you, they can reject your call, similar to a spam blocker.

The web cam gives a nice picture of the person to whom you are talking on the screen. Quick movements can distort the picture for a few seconds while the web cam is adjusting.

Skype includes a small window of each party at the bottom of the screens so you know what the other person is viewing. The quality of the picture is better if both parties have a good high-speed connection. Going from a dial-up connection to a high-speed connection can cause distortion in the video and also slows down the interaction.

It is best to set up a time with the person you will be calling so they have their Skype program open and ready to accept the video call. The person you are calling also has the option to accept the call with or without video. Once you are connected, you can talk as long as you want--there is no charge. You can make adjustments to see the person on full screen or half screen. I find that the image gets a little distorted on full screen, but overall it is still a good picture.

Another neat feature permits you to move a Netbook or laptop with the built-in camera around the room to show the person different items of interest in your home. The new, small Netbooks are especially useful because they are so portable and lightweight.

Skype can also be used as your telephone service by clicking on their Shop button. You set up a credit-card account with Skype to pay for the calls. Then you can make a phone call to a person's land line and talk to them through your computer.

I have noticed a few people using the new Netbooks as both a phone and video-calling service. They weigh only two pounds, and many women can carry them in their purse. With Skype you can make phone calls anywhere in the world, and the cost per minute will vary depending on where you are calling. I understand that overseas phone calls are very reasonable.

Keep in mind that Skype is not designed to be a replacement for your ordinary home phone since you would not have your computer on all the time. Also, be aware that you cannot use Skype for emergency calling such as 911.

This and That
By Elizabeth B. Wright, Computer Club of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

This article has been obtained from APCUG with the author’s permission for publication by APCUG member groups; all other uses require the permission of the author (wright599new (at) sbcglobal.net).

You never know what your program will remember when you close it. 

For that reason, if the last file you used in the program happened to be on removable media which has been detached from the computer, you might face a real problem the next time you turn on your computer. So, before terminating whatever program is using a file located on the removable media, CLOSE the file located on that media. Next, still in the program you have been using, locate on your internal hard disk any file which that program will recognize. Open it. You don’t have to work on the file, just open it and close it so that the last file used by the program was from the hard disk. You don't necessarily have to do any editing of the file, but you can re-save it as an added step to help the program remember where it found the last opened file, or you can just close it without re-saving it. On my C:\ drive I keep a text file created in MS Notepad titled freecell. You guessed it, that is where I save a list of the games I have failed to win (in other words, LOST). It isn’t particularly important, so if it somehow becomes corrupted or deleted, it can always be replaced with new information. This file is easily accessed and opened, after which, for a little added security, I re-save it before closing it.

Hopefully this satisfies the computers lust for usable information. I have spent too much time thinking a program had taken a permanent dive before remembering that the last work I did before turning off the machine was on a file located on a floppy disk, a camera memory card (either in a card reader or in the camera itself), or from some other form of removable media no longer accessible by the computer. If a file can no longer be physically accessed, many programs go into an endless loop trying to find it, causing your program to appear to be failing.

If you are lucky, using every trick you can think of, you might get the program to respond to a command to open a file on the hard disk. My all-time-favorite, Paint Shop Pro went to a “White Screen Of Death” recently every time I tried to use it. When my brain’s memory kicked in I remembered the last thing I had done before closing PSP earlier was to download pictures from my camera’s memory card. The memory card had been in a card reader and was removed to put it back in the camera AFTER I closed PSP. Downloading the camera photos was the last work I did before closing PSP. When next opening the program and getting that “WSOD” (see above), I found that even though various messages told me the program was not responding, the mouse would still operate and I was able to get “File/Open/ etc. etc.” to open a photo located on my hard drive. Problem solved, at least for that incident. 

Of course, you can never count on anything happening exactly the same way twice. So maybe, instead of “Death” for PSP it should just be “White Screen Of Coma.” But your program might just stop working with no change in the screen at all. Quoting one of our knowledgeable members, “it all  depends” on how the programmers wrote it.

Windows 7 Tech Tips
by Brian K. Lewis, Ph.D., Sarasota Personal Computer Users Group, Florida

This article has been obtained from APCUG with the author’s permission for publication by APCUG member groups; all other uses require the permission of the author (bwsail at yahoo.com).

Have you ever wanted or needed information about the hardware in your computer? Did you know that Windows 7 contains a command that can provide you with a list of your hardware components including memory information? It does and it is very easy to explore and to save to a file. There are other helpful little bits of information hidden in the recesses of Win7, so let’s take some time to explore a few of them.

First let’s check out the system information command. Go to Start and type “cmd” in the Search box (without the quotes), then press Enter. This will open a command window in which you can type “systeminfo”, also without the quote marks. Press Enter again and you will get a detailed profile of your computer. This list will include the processor, BIOS version, operating system and updates, both installed and available memory and much more. In all, there are thirty-two categories of information provided by this command. You can scroll up and down through this information. Then, if you want to save this info to a disc file, type the command “systeminfo /FO CSV > systeminfo.csv”. Again, without the quotes. This file will be saved in the directory shown at the beginning of the command line. So be sure you remember this location when you go to look for the file. A CSV file can be opened in a spreadsheet or a database program. Now you will have a ready reference for the components which make up your computer. It’s not a bad idea to create this file and keep it for reference purposes.

Of course, if you are a frequent reader of Dr Herb’s “Computer Buffet” you would have seen references to “Belarc Advisor”. This free program gives you a profile of all the hardware and software on your machine. It also highlights problem areas such as non-working applications. The software information can be quite extensive. The last time I ran this application on a Windows machine I had more than eight pages of information. Far more than I really wanted. The systeminfo command gives you a summary which is printable in one page.

There is another use for system information. If you type this “system information” command into the Start-Search box, it will bring up a list of applications before you finish typing. Select “System Information” from the list and click on it. You now have a double pane window with a tree of topics on the left and an information window on the right. The first item is a general summary of system information similar to the information we obtained in the command window. But there are other more detailed topics under the headings in the tree list. For example, hardware resources, components and software environment. Under components you will find a very important topic – problem devices. Hopefully, at this point there will be nothing listed when you highlight this topic. But if there are, it can lead you to solutions for some of your hardware problems. Under software environment you will find a topic called Startups. This lists the applications that are loaded into memory when your computer starts. Always something worth knowing.

Another interesting item under Software Environment is Windows Error Reporting. This gives you a detailed list of applications that have “misfired” or produced system hang-ups. This can be useful when you have problems with either Windows or third-party applications. All of the errors I found on my system were related to missing drivers that I had to install after installing Win7. Once that was completed the errors disappeared. Yes, I said that with crossed fingers – no use asking for bad luck, right?

If you haven’t backed up your computer recently, then you should try the backup built into Win7. In previous versions of Windows the backup application provided by Microsoft was very slow and some versions were very limited in the media to which they would write the backup file. It was also useless when you changed your Windows version as the file formats in the backup file were not compatible with the newer version. In the Win7 help files there is information on how to restore a backup made with Vista to Win7. So at least the latest versions should be compatible.

These latest versions of the backup applications are much faster than previous versions. To try the backup applications, open the Control Panel and select System Security, then backup and restore. Here you have several options. You can do a complete image of your hard drive, just backup your data, or make a system repair disc. If you did not get a Windows installation disc when you purchased your computer, then the first thing you should do is make a system repair disc. All you need for this is a blank CD and then just follow the on-screen instructions. The next step would be to make a complete image file, preferably on an external drive. It’s really not a good idea to put it on the same drive you are imaging even if it is a separate partition. Why? Because when the drive fails you won’t be able to access the image file to restore anything to a new hard drive. Even if you do have a Windows installation disc the repair disc plus the image file are a better solution for restoring Windows and your files after a drive failure. The image file you create will be more current than the original installation disc when it comes to Windows updates. It will also include the installation of all the applications you added after you purchased the system or upgraded to Win7.

Once you have the repair disc and the image backup you can start doing data backups, or you can create new image files periodically. There is no need to make image files unless you have added applications or made substantial changes to your system. Windows file backup can be set to run automatically to save your data files. It will also add new folders and files to the backup list when you create them. I would also recommend that this be saved to an external drive.

Do you have a need for a system to remember user names and passwords? Win7 has a credential manager which can be used for storing user names and passwords in an encrypted file. This application can be found in the Control Panel under User Accounts. If you can’t find it, try searching within the Control Panel.

I frequently have a need to write down short notes or references to information I found on the Internet or in other sources. This is where Sticky Notes comes in quite handy. You can run this application by typing “stikynot” in the Start – Search box and clicking on the program that shows in the popdown menu. Alternatively, you can go to All Programs – Accessories and click on Sticky Notes. These can be placed anywhere on your desktop. You can also pin the application to the taskbar so it will be readily available. Just right click on the menu item or one of the sticky notes and select “pin to taskbar”.

If you want to see the minute by minute performance of your computer, try typing “resource monitor” in the Start - Search box. The complete term will show up before you have completed typing and you can then click on the item. This brings up a window in which you can view the memory utilization, cpu utilization and other resources as you use your computer. It’s a great way to see which applications are using the most memory.

By playing around with the Control Panel and other aspects of Windows 7, you can find many helpful built-in functions. You can also query the Help files. On my system the Help response is much quicker than it was in Vista and XP. I also found that many subjects are better explained and more detailed. So if you are stuck on something, try the Help application that’s on the Start menu. The more you play with Win7, the more you will find that may be useful.

Dr. Lewis is a former university and medical school professor of physiology. He has been working with personal computers for over thirty years, developing software and assembling systems.

When is a dSLR NOT a dSLR?
by Jerry Schneir, Los Angeles Computer Society, California

This article has been obtained from APCUG with the author’s permission for publication by APCUG member groups; all other uses require the permission of the author (editor (at) lacspc.org).

Simple question but very indicative of what the future holds for some of us photo buffs. In simple terms, it is a camera that is devoid of a mirror box assembly. In other terms it is an interchangeable lens camera, but unlike a single lens reflex (SLR) it does NOT have a mirror to redirect the light from the lens to the optical viewfinder. All SLR cameras, digital and otherwise, use a mirror assembly to intercept the light that comes through the lens and redirects the incoming light to the viewfinder rather than to the film (or sensor) at the back of the camera. Generally the light will also pass through a prism or fixed mirrors at the top of the camera on its way to the viewfinder. It is this complex configuration that gives a SLR a distinctive look. It is also this configuration that gives a SLR a distinctive sound as the mirror swings out of the path of the incoming light and then returns to redirect the light back to the viewfinder.

To answer the question we need to go back in time. The entire dSLR world started changing in September of 2004 with Olympus’s introduction of their E300 dSLR. Here was a camera that didn’t look quite like anything else, not SLR nor rangefinder. It sported a mirror that worked different, didn’t have the traditional top bulge and was based upon the Four Thirds sensor design. In September of 2005 Olympus came out with their E500 a dSLR looking camera and then in January of 2006 they introduced the E330, another dSLR type, but a camera with “Live View”, the ability to see the image on the LCD before the shot was taken. That feature caused an uproar among the traditional SLR manufacturers. 

In February 2006 Panasonic introduced their unique looking L1 which was also based upon the Four Thirds sensor.. While the L1 still incorporated a mirror it did not have the look of a SLR, but more closely the rangefinder cameras of the `1950-1960 period. That camera bombed primarily because of cost. In August of 2007 Panasonic introduced the L10 which now resembled the traditional look of the SLR and had Live View but again did not do as well as hoped for by Panasonic.

In September of 2008 Panasonic brought forth the G1 a Micro Four Thirds camera that looked like a dSLR in that it had the characteristic bulge on the top of the camera, had interchangeable lenses, but it did NOT have a mirror box assembly. In the GI, light passed directly through the lens onto the imaging sensor. This was a much different camera. The camera was different for several other reasons. It was based upon the Four Thirds sensor size introduced several years earlier, but used Micro Four Thirds mount lenses, and used an electronic viewfinder (EVF) in place of the traditional optical viewfinder of the digital single lens reflexes (dSLR) cameras. Though it looked like the smaller dSLR cameras, Micro Four Thirds cameras are not dSLRs. They are also smaller because they don't house a dedicated autofocus image sensor. The autofocus on the G1 uses the Four Thirds image sensor. This is exactly like autofocus on a compact camera. But here, autofocus is speedier because on the Micro Four Thirds cameras they use both a faster autofocus algorithm and a faster processor. This makes autofocus feels faster and more like a dSLR, at least on some cameras.

Two companies, Olympus and Panasonic had adopted the Kodak developed Four Thirds sensor design.  The major advantage, and to some old diehards, the only advantage, was the reduction in both size and weight of the lenses and to a certain extent, the size and weight of the camera body as well. But these earlier cameras although smaller and lighter in weight, still could NOT do what every point and shoot camera could, show the image on the LCD or EVF before taking the picture and shoot movies. The GI still lacked the movie ability. The movie mode was just peeking its head up in regular dSLR  at about that time with “Live View”. Panasonic changed that with the arrival of the GH1 in March 2009, a new movie mode had been added.

Until recently, all these cameras still utilized the mirror box, nothing really had changed until the earth shattering (somewhat an exaggeration) introduction of the new mirrorless cameras in 2009, the Olympus E-P1. This was a rangefinder looking camera, albeit, without a rangefinder but having the rangefinder look. However, this breakthrough camera lacked two important built-in features, no flash and no viewfinder of any type. Olympus partially corrected this “whoops: with the introduction of the E-P2 in November 2009. This camera had a port for connecting a high resolution EVF. In February of this year, Olympus announced its newest edition to this family, the E-PL1. This camera had a built in flash and a port for connecting the EVF.

Panasonic finally took the plunge into a rangefinder style camera with the introduction of the GF1 in September of 2009. The GF1 uses an optional EVF and has a built-in flash unit.  In March of this year, Panasonic announced two new cameras, the G2 and the G10. These are almost identical cameras resembling SLR designs more than anything else. Interchangeable Micro Four Thirds lenses but no mirror boxes.

But this question about dSLR cameras doesn’t end here, other cameras with interchangeable lenses but lacking a mirror box have been introduced, have been announced, or are rumored to be in the works.  I have deliberately skipped talking about Leica cameras since, IMHO they are just largely rebadged Panasonics.  Sony showed their non-working prototype based upon a full APS-C sensor. Ricoh’s GXR comes with interchangeable units containing a  lens and a sensor in a rangefinder style camera. Can’t say much about the sensor size since it is dependent upon the lens that is part of the system. I have strong reservations about this concept.

The Samsung NX10 is a rangefinder style camera using a new lens format called NX. What is most interesting about this camera is that it uses a APS-C size sensor, that is about 1.5x that of the Four Thirds sensors. Of course, this means larger and heavier lenses than that of the Panasonic or Olympus cameras of similar designs. While Canon and Nikon have said nothing, rumors are rampant. I suspect that we will see new mirrorless digital cameras from these mammoths of the industry in the later part of this year. I suspect that the designs will be that of rangefinder styles reminiscent of earlier Nikon RF cameras of the 1940-1960 and the same with Canon except they may base it more on their popular G series of cameras such as their G11.

So here we have it, a whole new class of cameras, you might say SLR cameras minus the R.  I prefer to say RF style since in my mind they are truly reminiscent of cameras from the 1940-1960 time period. The advantage to this new group of cameras is smaller size and lighter weight while maintaining the excellent image quality associated with the dSLR cameras. Disadvantage, fewer lens choices and, for the time being, relatively more expensive. Some of these cameras tend to be slower focusing but that is changing in the newer models.

Electronic Waste — Where to Dispose of It
by Peggy Johnson, DVPC

Here's a list of ewaste donation sites in Central Contra County County. We've included sites where you can recycle single-use and rechargeable batteries, and to dispose of unneeded pharmaceuticals and over-the-counter medications. Be sure to check the websites to determine what they will accept. If you know or learn of others, please let me know with the location, hours, and website URL.

Computers and Electronics

Hauling Pros Recycling Center
www.dumpmytv.com
73A South Buchanan Circle
(on the left behind S&S Roofing)
Pacheco, CA 94553
925-682-8987
Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Rapid Recycle
www.rapidrecycle.net
110 Second Ave., South B-1
Pacheco, CA 94553
925-671-8008
Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Recycle for Breast Cancer
www.recycleforbreastcancer.org/dropoffanytime.htm
31 Beta Court, Suite C
San Ramon, CA 94583
800-315-9580
7 days a week excluding holidays 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
A completed donation form is requested at the time of donation; this form can be downloaded from their website

e-Recycle OnUs
www.erecycleonus.com
1271 Boulevard Way
(at back left corner past East Bay Art and CTA)
Walnut Creek, CA 94595
925-934-1515
Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Electronic Waste Management
www.noewaste.com
E-Waste recycling events at Diablo Valley College
321 Golf Club Road
(in DVC overflow parking lot across from north side of main campus)
Pleasant Hill, CA
866-335-3373
First Saturday of every month (except holidays)
9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Where to recycle Batteries

Single-Use Household Batteries
CVS/Longs Drugs
www.longs.com
Alamo, Blackhawk, Danville, Lafayette,
Moraga, Orinda, Walnut Creek, San Ramon
Right Aid Drugstores
www.rightaid.com
Orinda, Walnut Creek
Radio Shack
www.radioshack.com
Danville, Walnut Creek
Check websites for store hours

Rechargeable Batteries
Right Aid Drugstores
www.rightaid.com
Check website for store hours

Specialty Batteries
Call(2)Recycle
www.call2recycle.org/drop-off-your-old-batteries.php?c=1&d=213&e=85&f=142&w=9100&r=Y

Where to Dispose of Unneeded Pharmaceutical and Over-the-Counter Medications
Walnut Creek City Hall
www.walnut-creek.org
1666 North Main Street, Walnut Creek
Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Look for the green Pharmaceutical Disposal bin
Please don't flush your drugs!

How and Where to Recycle or Dispose of Other Household Waste Items
Central Contra Costa Sanitary District
The CCCSD has a two-page Disposal Guide for Central Contra Costa County brochure that can be viewed online or printed. This handy guide tells how to dispose of common household waste in safe, simple, and environmentally healthy ways. Click on the link below to access the brochure.
www.centralsan.org/documents/Brochure_Disposal_Guide.pdf

This brochure requires Adobe Acrobat Reader; you can download and install the latest version of Acrobat Reader by clicking this icon.

Adobe Elements SIG Meeting Program
by Peggy Johnson, DVPC

The May Adobe Elements SIG meeting has been cancelled. Peggy will send an email to Elements SIG members with further information.

We cover and discuss the Adobe Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements software programs, along with other photo and video manipulation programs. As usual, check out the Elements SIG pages at www.bkbrown.net for all the latest news, information and tutorials.

The Adobe Elements SIG usually meets on the third or fourth Thursday of each month; be sure to check Peggy's email notice for the topic and meeting date!

Please email Peggy for further information and/or directions.

Windows SIG Meeting Program
by Walt Parsons, DVPC

The Windows SIG meeting will be held on Monday, June 7, 2010 at 6:30 p.m. Walt will demonstrate Corel's WordPerfect X5, the latest version. He'll talk about some of the new features and improvement, including better compatibility with Microsoft Office 2007 document formats and flexible and powerful pdf file editing.

The May meeting was held prior to release of this issue of Diablo Blue. At the May 3 meeting Walt demonstrated Macecraft's jv16 PowerTools 2009.

The Windows SIG meetings are usually held on the first Monday of each month in the Community Room at the Concord Police Station. It's located at 1350 Galindo Street in Concord. See the detailed directions and a map on the DVPC SIG News page.

The Daily Dilbert Cartoon
by Scott Adams