Registration for Nov 4th Computer Class Series #60 is Tuesday, October 22nd 9am

Just a reminder that registration for the next Series #60 of Computer Classes will be held tomorrow morning at the Southern Artery main building, Classroom 1, so come on down and bring a friend...

Classes are held Monday-Wednesday mornings and Monday-Thursday afternoons..

Monday-Wednesday Mornings:

Beginners held Mondays 9am-10:30am & 10:30am-12Noon

Intermediate 1/Internet held Tuesdays 9am-10:30am & 10:30am-12N

Intermediate 2/Word & Excel Basics held Wednesday 9am-10:30am

When an additional class is needed for a specific topic in the morning, it will be held Wednesdays 10:30am-12N 

Monday-Thursday Afternoons:

Advanced Classes Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday at 1pm-2:30pm and Thursday at 12:30pm-2pm; 2pm-3:30pm

This series our Advanced Afternoon Classes will be focusing on buying and using Smartphones; Reviewing Word Processing Skills and then spending several weeks using those Word skills to create Note Cards, Envelopes and Labels; Discussing changing technology in digital cameras & camcorders, tablets, kindles, nooks & ipads and spending two weeks improving printer and scanning skills...  Remember - these are your classes, so if you have suggestions for class topics, please let us know...Your input is very important to the success of this program and to ensure we are helping you learn the computer related topics that are of interest to you...

The ten week series will begin the week of November 4th and continue into the first week of February, however no classes will be held:

Monday Nov 11th - Veteran's Day Holiday

Monday - Friday, Nov. 25-Nov 29th Thanksgiving Holiday

Monday-Friday, Dec. 23rd - Jan. 3rd, 2013 Christmas-New Year Holiday

Monday Jan 20th - Martin Luther King Holiday

Reminder - When Quincy and/or Weymouth Public Schools are closed for inclement weather, no computer classes will be held.

Enjoy your day...

WINDOWS 8.1 IS AVAILABLE AS A FREE DOWNLOAD TODAY

If you haven't heard the announcement yet - Microsoft released the new Windows 8.1 update/upgrade today.

It is a free upload for any of you who are using Windows 8 on your computers, laptops or tablets...

Here is a link to the MSN website that made the announcement this morning and clearly outlines many of the issues addressed with this update/upgrade.....

http://money.msn.com/investing/news.aspx?feed=AP&date=20131017&id=17008390

This update is specifically designed to address many of the gripes people have had with Windows 8, the dramatically different operating system that attempts to bridge the divide between tablets and PCs.

So again, this Window 8.1 update is free for current owners of Windows 8; downloads started at 7 am this morning in New York, which corresponded to the start of Friday in New Zealand.

Simply go to the Windows Store app to find it.  Here is the link for their app store if you don't have it in your favorites...

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/apps#Cat=t1

As they noted in their MSN announcement  "it may take a few hours for updates to reach everyone. Computers with Windows 8.1 already installed will go on sale Friday local time. That's also when people will be able to buy stand-alone copies of Windows 8.1."

Windows 7 - Using Speech Recognition

Before you run out to buy Dragon Speech or a similar software program, use the Speech Recognition software that has been built into all Windows Operating Systems, since Windows XP.  Voice/Speech Recognition is becoming common today in so many devices including iPhone, iPad, iPods, Android tablets and smartphones, computers, automobiles and other devices... So the more comfortable you get with it, the more you will use it with all of your devices...

If you haven't played with "Speech Recognition" yet, and are now using Windows 7, give it a try.  The program in Windows 7 is quite powerful and allows you to tell your computer what to do and you can also use it to dictate text into a document. 

Speech Recognition uses a special voice profile to recognize your voice and spoken commands, so the more you use Speech Recognition, the more detailed your voice profile becomes, which will improve your PC (and other mobile devices) abilities to understand you

As with so many things we do with the computer, using the speech recognition to give commands is just another way, in addition to using the mouse and/or the keyboard and/or

keypad.. 

Before you set up your Speech Recognition, make sure you've plugged a microphone into your PC so these steps will work.. Personally I think using a headset microphone; which is less likely to pick up background noise, is best when I'm using any speech recognition program to give commands or dictate into documents, doing voice recordings for slide shows and movies and using other programs such as Skype..

In Windows 7, click the Start Button

• Type Speech in the search box of the start menu
• Choose Windows Speech Recognition from the menu
• Note-if this is the first time you've used it, the Set-Up Speech Recognition Wizard will open and walk you thru setting up the system & settings. 
•  When you are in settings, it gives you the option to "Train your computer to better understand you" that helps it to recognize your voice.. 
•  In the Set-up, Windows also offers a tutorial that will help familiarize you with how to give commands and use the software - Take the tutorial - it really helps... 
• As with any new program or piece of hardware you are learning, remember to also use www.yotube.com, to find additional tutorials that will help you master just about anything..

Be patient and practice - like so many other things, the more you do it, the easier it will become and the more comfortable you will be...

Which Internet Browser To Use??

TRY ALL OF THEM...

Today almost all public & work environment computers have all 4 of the major browsers installed on them.  This gives the individual users the choice of which browser they want to use...  Why?? Think of it as having multiple salad dressing choices in your fridge... No particular reason, they all do the same thing, it's just a matter of taste..

You will also find that certain websites you visit "work better" if and when you use the browser that they've built their platform on... so for example if you are visiting any website from Google - Gmail, blogger, YouTube, Google drive, Google maps etc. then you might consider opening your CHROME browser to access those websites.

Computers and other devices with Windows Operating Systems come with Internet Explorer pre-installed, those with Android Operating Systems have Google Chrome installed, and Apple Operating Systems have Safari pre-installed, but you can use any of these browsers on your devices - simply download them: 

• Google Chrome ~ go to www.google.com
• Firefox by Mozilla ~ go to www.mozilla.com
• Safari  by Apple ~ go to http://support.apple.com/downloads/#internet

What does “hastsag” mean?

You hear and see the expression everywhere - follow me on # and then the company or individuals name (or you hear follow me on hashtag then the company or persons name -  - but what does that mean....
 

One of the most popular questions we are receiving in classes and via email is this one..  “What is a hashtag”.. Simply put, it is the “#” sign...

“Hashtags” are used by quite a few social media sites to indicate a name to whom you can then send/or follow for messages & updates...  Social media sites using “hashatgs” are those like Twitter, Flickr, Instagram, Tumblr, Tout, Google+, Facebook and others...

For example.. if I said to you what are each of these next two phrases in red.....

www.anycompany.com – you know it is a web address because the prefix is “www”

Susie@anycompany.com – you know it is an email address because of the @ sign

And if you hear.....

#anycompany,  it indicates that you can follow/connect to that person or company's group of common messages by entering their #hashtag id on the social media site you are registered with... Yes, you also have to be registered with that specific social media site with your own #hashtag name...

Your next Computer Class Series Begins the week of August 19th

On behalf of our entire team we hope you have enjoyed a healthy, fun filled summer break and are now ready to get back to playing with your computers and learning about all this changing technology.....

We have a wonderful new ten (10) week series planned based on topics you and fellow classmates have asked us to cover.  If you haven't registered to attend a class or two, be sure to contact the Southern Artery Office as soon as possible...

Our goal is to help everyone get comfortable with your computers and other portable devices – For some students, who are just getting comfortable with the computers and technology our morning program may be just what you are looking for - we offer three levels:

• Beginners: We will help you understand computer basics, laptops, etc & begin using the Internet
• Intermediate 1: Spend the entire series playing with the Internet & email
• Intermediate 2: Learn the basics of using Word for word processing and Excel for creating spreadsheets

For those students, who have been taking classes for a while and are comfortable with the basics, then our afternoon series is what you might be interested in.  Our goal for our afternoon students this series, is to help increase your understanding of the computer filing system using Windows Explorer, Flash Drives & Memory Cards and using Cloud Computing with SkyDrive, Google Drive, Syncing your emails, calendar and contact list to all your devices; We will spend lots of time on the ever changing world of the Internet – terminology, shopping safely, video websites and the last few weeks our goal is to get everyone comfortable with music on your computer and other devices...

WEEK 1 & 2...WINDOWS EXPLORER –ORGANIZe YOUR COMPUTER

Understanding your computers filing system

Copying & Pasting vs. click ‘n drag

Copying to & from flash drives & memory cards

Please bring a flash drive- we will:

Create folders, sub-folders & rename photos & documents & more

WEEK 3 & 4 CLOUD COMPUTING, SKYDRIVE, GOOGLEDRIVE & SYNCING

What is cloud computing all about & how it makes your life easier’

Learn to safely store photos & documents in the clouds

Using your cloud’s address book & calendar for easy access

Syncing between your PC & Phone, Tablet

How to use your calendar – new & repeat events (daily-weekly-yearly) & more

WEEKS 5, 6, 7 & 8 INTERNET – EVERYTHING YOU NEED/WANT TO KNOW...

 How’s & why’s of using the popular browsers??

Customize your browser with your Favorites/Bookmarks, tabs & lists

Meaning of: Virus, worms, Trojans, Spyware, malware, cookies & more

Shopping safely –Searching, how to pay safely

YouTube & HuLu – downloading & streaming??

Setting up accounts so you can save & upload video’s

WEEK 9 & 10 – WORKING WITH MUSIC ON YOUR DEVICES...

How to play & save CD’s on your computer

Using the “clouds for music”

Find & listen to your favorite radio station, Jango & Pandora

Understanding iTunes & others, purchasing & burning music to cd’s

Creating Slide Shows – Power Point & Picasa

Some basic Power Point Info...

WHAT IS POWER POINT:  Gives you the ability to create a slide show combining your photos, text, animation, sound and more… to make your information much more enjoyable.  Power Point presentations have been used in business for years, but today you see them being used at weddings, showers, birthday parties, reunions, memorial services and by groups & organizations.  Students as young as 3^rd grade are using power point presentations to enhance reports and projects.

POWER POINT APPLICATION SOFTWARE

Can be bought individually or it is included as part of the MICROSOFT OFFICE bundle.  The Power Point Application Software is always required for you to create and or modify a power point presentation.

POWER POINT VIEWER: This is a free software offered from Microsoft that allows you to watch power point presentations sent to you via email.  You can then save them on your computer to send to someone else, you cannot however change or modify them in anyway or create your own without the full Power Point Application Software Program.

ADD POWER POINT VIEWER TO YOUR COMPUTER: Go to www.Microsoft.com – on right hand column – choose Downloads & Trials, search for “Power Point Viewer” and when wizard opens up – choose DOWNLOAD NOW button – in a few minutes this free software will be on your computer – follow directions as it adds it…

CAN YOU MAKE SLIDE PRESENTATIONS WITHOUT POWER POINT?? Yes, use Picasa (a free photo editing software program from Google, if you don’t have it, go to www.picasa.com and download for free).  Picasa’s version 3, has both a slide show & movie making application to use and they are easy to work with.. For those with Windows XP or Vista, your windows software has a free program called Windows Movie Maker which works in much the same way as power point and the Picasa applications… and if you have Windows 7 or 8 you can always search for and download

In our next posting we will talk more about using PICASA to create slide shows..