April / Summer 2018
Winter Hours through April 30
Mon-Fri: 8-4, Saturday: 8-12
Summer Hours Start May 1
Mon-Fri: 8-12; closed Saturday & Sunday
The Club will be closed on Memorial Day (May 28),
Independence Day (July 4), and Labor Day (September 3).
Next General Meeting: Tuesday, April 17, 1:30 pm in the Anza Room upstairs.
"Stuff for All Things Apple" with Ernie Cox
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>> Interested in taking a free class? Click to view the class calendar.
>> Most classes conclude at the end of April. However, still continuing throughout the summer on Wednesday mornings are Windows 10 Q&A and one-on-one MS Office help. No reservations are needed. Check out the calendar for more information.
>> Attn: Mac Monitors
Click to view the Mac Monitor Calendar. To make changes, contact Kathy Arnold.
>> If you can volunteer some time to the Computer Club as a monitor, please contact Mike Kearns at gvrcomputerclub@gmail.com for more information.
>> Financial Report, as of January 31, 2018, provided by Jerry Ferris:
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Computer Club Financial Report |
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Balance on 01/31/2018 |
$ 71,167.58 |
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Income |
$ 2,452.89 |
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Expense |
$ 501.60 |
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Balance on 02/28/2018 |
$ 73,118.87 |
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About our General Meetings
From Art Rotman, GVR Computer Club President
Hi all,
If you missed the March General Meeting, you missed a great show put on by Bob Ogus. He never ceases to amaze with his knowledge of smart speakers (think Amazon’s Alexa and its competitors) and streaming devices. If you want to learn about these technologies, visit our website at ccgvaz.org and check the class schedule.
Next month you’ll notice that Ernie Cox will present “Stuff for All Things Apple.” Come to learn and bring your questions, too.
Note that the Computer Club has General Meetings on the third Tuesday of every month from November through April at 1:30 pm in the Anza Room over the Club’s location in Silver Springs.
We would like to know from you what subjects you think would be of interest to Club members that we should consider scheduling. Our half of the job is to find capable and interesting presenters; your half is, well...
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Chromebooks
The computer club has a Chromebook available for Club members to examine and use. It is on the counter in the back of the Lab area. A Chromebook is especially useful if all you mainly want to do is emailing and searching the Internet. At $200-300, it is considerably less expensive than a laptop.
A Chromebook is a different breed of computer. It runs on Google’s web-based Chrome OS, which is designed to be used with an Internet connection. Most of Chromebook’s documents and apps exist in the cloud. And Google automatically provides 100 GB of cloud storage for every Chromebook.
You can think of a Chromebook as a light-weight laptop that starts up superfast (roughly 7 seconds), has a battery life of about 12 hours, and does not need antivirus software. When you turn on the Chromebook you’ll notice that the only native app is the Google Chrome Internet browser and also a link to Gmail. And that’s pretty much your key to all that is Chromebook. Everything else is composed of Web apps (email, photos, documents), or apps that run while you’re connected to a network. In many ways they are very similar to an iPad but with a keyboard and a much lower price tag.
If you want to learn more, you can find many YouTube videos that demonstrate the use, features, and limitations of Chromebooks. Read more about Chromebooks at Google's website.
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What is a Word Cloud?
From Dorothy Fitch, Green Bytes Editor
A word cloud is a design made of words that you choose. There are a number of websites that will automatically create a design using the words you enter. All you have to do is type or paste in a list of words and click a button.
The size of each word depends on how many times that word is in the list. The more times the word is in the list, the larger it will appear. Depending on the word cloud generator you use, you may be able to change the angle of the words, pick different colors, and set other options.
Click to go to the website I used to make the word cloud above Art's article.
For the Peppers word cloud above, I used this website.
Just Google "word cloud" to find other websites to make your perfect word cloud.
It's fun to play around with word clouds. Give it a try. (If you are entering the names of grandchildren, however, don't type the name of any one of them more than the others, or it will appear larger. You don't want to be accused of favoritism, do you?)
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Ernie's Mac Tips
from Ernie Cox Jr
How to customize Do Not Disturb While Driving settings on iPhone for convenience and safety
Click to read this article.
iOS Tip: How to quickly track flights on iPhone and iPad
Click to read this article.
7 MacOS display settings to help you see your Mac better
Click to read this article.
Live Memories for iOS instantly transforms your Live Photos into video keepsakes
Click to read this article.
How to enable Offload Unused Apps in iOS to save storage space automatically
Click to read this article.
Tip: Having trouble with the URLs not working in the “Tips” above? Copy the heading of the story you want to read and put that into the browser. This also works if you can’t open an article in your favorite on-line news outlet.
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Be Your Own Mechanic
Review by Bob Schultz, Editor, Lake-Sumter Computer Society, Leesburg, FL
October 2017 Issue, NewBytes
[This article was provided to us by APCUG, of which we are a member.]
I am sure there are times you would like to answer your own question about your car's performance before you take it somewhere to have work done. You would like to know basically what is wrong with your car if you suspect a problem. Or, even if you don't have a problem you would like to know how your car is performing.
Well now you can do that. Every new car since 1996 has a port for plugging in a device to examine your car's performance.
This new device will instantly diagnose your car's problems for you and translate them into simple, easy-to-understand terms – and much more! Meaning, the next time a mechanic is trying to pull one over on you, you can call them on it! It's called FIXD. It is the first easy-to-use car health maintenance monitor.
BEST PART: When that "Check Engine Light" comes on, FIXD tells you exactly what's causing it in a way anyone can understand. No more looking up codes or taking it to the dreaded auto shop only to be given a list of unnecessary repairs – never again! You can also turn off the check engine light right from the FIXD app if the problem is not serious or if you want to see if it will reoccur. How cool is that?!
 Sounds Great, But How Much Does It Cost?
With all the benefits FIXD provides, you'd think it would cost a few hundred dollars, right? That's what makes this company so great. The founders of FIXD made it incredibly affordable so they can help as many people as possible avoid getting scammed by mechanics, while also staying on top of their car's health. It retails for only $59 and you can purchase it on their official website: www.fixdapp.com
Don't wait until it's too late! A small investment of a little more than that cost of an oil change can keep your car running smoothly and out of shady auto shops.
Notes from the Green Bytes editor:
Publishing this review does not imply endorsement by the GVR Computer Club. Is is offered to provide information to Club members.
Go to this website, not associated with FIXD, to find out exactly where to plug in the OBD-II sensor in your specific car: make, model, and year. (OBD stands for On-Board Diagnostics.)
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Membership Renewal
Your GVR Computer Club membership dues are payable by the end of the year. To pay your dues, you can come to the Club and a monitor on duty will assist you, or you can complete the renewal form online and bring it or mail it to the Club.
Click here to download the fillable Membership Form.
(Use either Google Chrome or Internet Explorer to fill it out online.)
Print the form and bring it with your payment to the Club.
You can also mail the form and your check to:
GVR Computer Club
921 West Via Rio Fuerte Drive
Green Valley, AZ 85614
A Single Membership renewal costs $25, and a Family Membership costs $35.
If you have any questions, call the Club at 520-625-4508.
If you have a Single Membership and wish to add a person in your household to create a Family Membership, refer to the Membership Form for guidelines.
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