E-News28-14

Editor of the Week: Michelle Blandburg

by Paul Howard, Computer Club Coordinator

THE COMPUTER CLUB (OLLI Personal Computer User Group, or OPCUG) will meet with its partner, the Potomac Area Technology and Computer Society (PATACS), Saturday, July 19th at Tallwood. Join us at 1:30 for soft drinks and socializing in the social room. Presentations will begin at  2:00. (Special start time because of OLLI music program in the morning.) This month's offerings will include the following:

Some Thoughts on Tablets, Presented by Stan Schretter, OLLI Member
 
The tablet wars remind me of the Beta vs VHS VCR battles. Commercials are very well produced, but not necessarily useful to the consumer. Technical specs are abundant, but again not that useful to the ordinary consumer. So what is one to do in making a decision? Stan will discuss his own experiences with the iPad (iPad 3 and Mini 2) and Nexus 7. Since these are sold and updated directly by their manufacturer (Apple and Google) they provide the ability to actually compare iOS vs Android. Note that many/most “Android” tablets are really products of companies (e.g., Amazon, Samsung,) and besides having a custom user interface they may not be updated very often or not at all during their lifetime.
 
Stan spent almost 40 years as an electrical engineer conceptualizing and designing complex computer and communication systems. His first experience with computers was in the late 50s and he still has his Apple 2e and original IBM PC (i.e., the one that came without a hard drive). While he has developed Windows PC freeware software that obtained a worldwide distribution, today he is only a device user and not a tinkerer in either hardware or software. Currently Stan’s set of devices include iPhone, iPad, Nexus 7, iMac desktop, Windows 7 desktop, and a Chromebook laptop for doing email and browsing the internet when he needs a real keyboard.
 
Learn 30: Introduction to Zoom – Attend Meetings Remotely
Presented by Mel Mikosinski
 
Zoom is a cloud-based meeting service allowing voice and video conferences from two to 1000 participants. Participants can attend via Windows and Mac computers, and Android and iOS devices–smartphones and tablets. The recent addition of their 'Room Connector' service allows linking standards-based video conference systems from major hardware providers to their cloud service offerings.
 
Mel Mikosinski had a long career serving on active duty and as an Air Force civilian employee. He's the 2nd Vice President/membership chair of PATACS, moderates the Webinar SIG on the 2nd Wednesdays of the month, and has been the lead researcher of the OLLI AV technical team investigating and implementing videoconferencing.

See full details on this meeting by clicking here.  For information on the Computer Club, see the OPCUG website.  OPCUG dues of $5 for 2014 will be collected at this meeting.

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Courtesy of Poetry Workshop
 

Suburban Wild

I walked out the side door of my house
to roll the trash of the week to the curb,
looked up and discovered two huge eyes
staring at me from the big maple tree
 
What are you doing here? the eyes asked me
from the face of a king-sized owl,
two feet tall, mighty wings, razor claws
 
I realized I had no good reply,
turned quickly, and went back inside
 
                                Betty Smith

Performances, Oct 10 - Oct 20

By Shelly Gersten, OLLI E-News Staff Writer

For tickets for either CFA or Hylton, call 1-888-945-2468, buy tickets online through the event calendar (see links below), or visit the venue's box office. For more information see the CFA ticket page or the Hylton ticket purchase page.