Get those White Elephant Gifts ready! Plus, about our next meeting...

Just a reminder: the next BGAMUG meeting is on November 27th.

This presentation on Craigslist and Ebay should be fun.

And the BGAMUG Christmas Party is coming up.

Contact Paula if you can help with the party.

These notices are from the latest BGAMUG News, which you can download here.

Members, you can start wrapping up those White Elephant gifts now to have them ready by the party date. You can bring 1 gift or 5 and more if you wish.

Later!

-Betsy

E. Sheppard
Webmaster, 2012
The BGAMUG Computer Club.

Also: Join us on Facebook!

Thanks for the neat links, Jerry, and Jeri!

The meeting this week went well. We talked about the Christmas Party, and found out some things about the CCleaner free app that cleans Windows computers.

Here is something that our VP sent via email today.

APCUG, which the BGAMUG Computer Club belongs to, has a YouTube Channel!

You can go there and see some great videos.

Here is that link he sent via email: http://www.youtube.com/apcugvideos.

I went to this page today and looked at the titles. Our President, Jerry S., has a video about using Family Search.org for Genealogy Research here.

There are videos about digital photos, conferences, user group meetings as a vendor, Linux, Virtual Tech Conferences, and How to Register for an APCUG Virtual Conference.

Neat! I look forward to trying these.

Here is Jeri's presentation video and her slides:



Also, Jeri would like to post this link from MakeUseOf here on the blog today:

Getting a New Computer or Reinstalling Windows - Make a List of your License Keys.

Later!

-Betsy

E. Sheppard
Webmaster, 2012
The BGAMUG Computer Club.

Also: Join us on Facebook!

PS If you are a member, send a link to this blog to other members and suggest they join up so they can get this blog too.

Thanks!

Welcome new BGAMUG Computer Club members and guests...

This photo is from Georgy90 at the Wikimedia.org website.

About our BGAMUG Computer Club
The BGAMUG Computer Club helps its members and the public learn more about computing and personal computers. They also help people who do not have computers get them.

The BGAMUG Computer club meets on the 4th Tuesday of every month except December.

Our next meeting is October 23rd. Guests are always welcome. The meeting starts at 6:30 and is located at Building F at the Bowling Green Technical College.

The group also has a newsletter that comes out every month. You can go here to see that latest issues and also back issues.

The Genealogy Special Interest Group
We will have a Genealogy Special Interest Group (SIG) meeting first for anyone who is interested. It begins at 5:45.

I have gone to many of these meetings. We learn about how to search for your family tree, how to use a census, how to access birth and death records, sites online, and much more.

The BGAMUG Computer Club meeting follows.

What is being discussed at the October meeting
This month we will be hearing about CCleaner, a clean-up program for Windows computers, that is free. He will have hands-on training so that anyone who wants to use this program can use it.

Joe E. from Western Kentucky Computers will be the speaker. He has a website here.

We have a cash drawing plus a prize drawing too.

A reminder: if you are not a member, you can come to the meeting as a guest.  We love to have new guests.

All for now,

Betsy Sheppard
Webmaster, 2012
The BGAMUG Computer Club
Bowling Green, Kentucky

And here is our website (a map to the meeting is there) - plus our Facebook page. See you there!

New items are on the Auction list for BGAMUG! And one item is no longer offered...

Here is the newest update of the official BGAMUG Auction information.

In case you didn't know about it yet, this Auction meeting is coming up on Tuesday, September 25th.

The public is invited!

Here are the latest items. Note that the Visio Tablet is no longer there, but there have been a couple of other items added, such as an Exercise Trampoline and a Maxtor External Hard Drive.

Members bringing items to be donated and auctioned for the club are asked to bring these items before the meeting, between 5 and 6:15.

The meeting itself starts at 6:30.

I hopefully will be attending. It sounds fun!

There is a map on the website showing how to get to the meeting.

 I hope to see you there if you are in the area!

Later,
Betsy
BGAMUG Webmaster, 2012

Our next meeting is Tuesday, September 25th - and it will be a fun one!

Be prepared to bid on some neat items at our next BGAMUG meeting, which is on Tuesday, September 25th.

This auction looks fun! It is from the Wikimedia Commons pages.

Jerry Gillette has kindly consented to be the Auctioneer for a fun Auction meeting full of computer related items and other useful things. Jerry is so funny when he does events, it will be worth watching just to watch him work. But it will also be fun to buy things too, and support the club.

Members, bring your items to donate to the BGAMUG Computer Club and watch the fun. These can be computer-related or not, but need to be items people will really like and bid on.

And bring money so you can bid on the items too! Any items not sold at the auction go back to their donators to bring home.

I am looking forward a lot to this meeting!

I love auctions and buying things for good prices. Remember, everything you buy helps the BGAMUG Computer club help people learn about computers, and also helps them with donations to help the community and others.

See you there!

This auction hammer is also from the Wikimedia pages.

Betsy S.
Webmaster, 2012
The BGAMUG Computer Club.

Readers: Find out more about the BGAMUG Computer Club here at the BGAMUG website.

Later!

E. Sheppard
Webmaster, 2012
The BGAMUG Computer Club.

Also: join us on Facebook here. 

And thanks for visiting our Blog today!

Some Delaware Library Interns like our links! We have listed one of theirs on our site too.

Map from Wikimedia Commons.

News from a Classroom in Delaware: 

We had a very interesting email from Ms. Ward at a Delaware school lately.

Madi, a Library Intern, found a great typing link for us.

The interns are using some links on our BGAMUG Computer Club Links Page too, on a school website page this year.

So it's a big win-win situation for us!

Thank you, Ms. Ward, and Madi, for another link to add to our Links Page.

It is "Staffing Solutions: Learning to Type More Efficiently" at http://www.certstaff.com/classes/learn-to-type-efficiently.html.

Thank you for trading links with us.

More BGAMUG News:

Our next BGAMUG Computer Club meeting is on August 28th at 6:30 p.m. 

Find out more here at the BGAMUG website.

Later!

E. Sheppard
Webmaster, 2012
The BGAMUG Computer Club.

Also: join us on Facebook here. 

And thanks for visiting our Blog today.

Upcoming programs and events for the BGAMUG Computer Club in Bowling Green, Kentucky for 2012

It's a Cat's Life or Catbook Pro by A. Davey on Flickr.

I got an email from our former President today, reminding me of future events for the BGAMUG Computer Club. Come to a meeting to meet him!

And our newest President too. Guests are always welcome, and might win a prize too! Plus they can learn about their computers there.

BGAMUG Meeting Topics coming up:

This month (July) I will be doing a short presentation on External Backups. (Save those files!) I have some experience LOSING files, so I made it a project to find an online service that helps me keep my files safe. I will talk about my experiences with different programs and which one I like best.

In August, Joe will talk about Windows 8.

In September, Jerry will have a Special Auction. Things we need are "mostly computer or digital related items, but any donated items with a life or usefulness are acceptable." So members and donors, please look around your house for items to bring to the September meeting to raise money for the Club.

I hope you all are having a great week!


E. Sheppard
BGAMUG Webmaster, 2012

PS I want to give a shout out to our great Newsletter Editor, Sharon. She puts up with late submissions, too many emails, and much more. Thanks, Sharon!

Join us at these other sites:
Our website
Join us on Facebook!

art from Clker.com

What kind of computer do you use? What kind will you use later on?

The future of computers - how about an "All-In-One"or an Eyeglass Computer?

Just curious, but what kind of computer do you use? Do you own a laptop, a desktop, or maybe just a smart phone?

Web browsing - from the free Clker site.

It seems there are so many kinds of computers you can own nowadays. People are no longer stuck with just a desktop computer. They can be more mobile and go online with their phones or tablets too.

It used to be IBM vs. Mac. Now there are fast computers with many brand names, and even Apple has its Pro versions, laptops, tablets, (iPads) iPods, and iPhones. Other companies all have their favorites in all sizes and types.

It seems like everyone wants to have one of everything. For me, I'm mostly happy just with a regular desktop right now. My laptops seem to wear out easier, and the iPad is great, but not as versatile as a "real" computer.

What do you think? Will the desktop computer eventually turn into a dinosaur? Perhaps we will all have portable computers that grow or shrink screens depending on how we plan to use them that day. They will all have phones in them, and all have an option to switch on "Everywhere Wireless" probably for a fee.

You will be able to connect your TV to online shows (probably for free) and multitask when something good is on by using the portable screen and phone at the same time you are recording the other good show on another channel.

Many of these things are already possible. Even the mini-computer glasses to use while doing cleaning or the dishes at the same time you are watching your favorite show have already been invented - at least, the technology is there.

I think it's going to be fun just as soon as everyone can afford the technology, and learns how to use it. It is going to be so fun.

What do YOU think will be popular in, say, 10 years from now? 20?

E. Sheppard
BGAMUG Webmaster, 2012




Join us at these other sites:
Our website
Join us on Facebook!

Yay! I found an old email that helped me. Some advice on getting your computer data back on a newer computer.

Just saying...

I found an old email that helped me. My hard drive went south on me, but The Place downtown helped me save it. Thank you, The Place!

Ah! This altered art is by Vicci at the moon stars paper blog.

Anyway, I have been busy putting programs back ON my next computer lately. This was mostly pretty easy this time, as I have all most of my programs in the same location.

Also, I had unlimited email on my Yahoo mail account. Thank goodness! Unfortunately, for a while I only had the titles of those messages. Then this week I was able to open them and use them.

It is a mystery to me where the message insides (actual messages) have been all this time.

On the good side, because of a program called BackBlaze, I was able to get back my photos and other research.

Note to others: make sure when you have a problem, you go to BackBlaze and start a retrieval. Do NOT request another hard drive backup of your computer, because BackBlaze will back up what is THERE on your hard drive. 

If you do not have anything on the hard drive any more, or are working from another computer, you could lose your original backup from the old one in favor of the almost-empty hard drive of the new one. Just saying.

I could have made this mistake, but was lucky and didn't. My advice to anyone (including myself) is to just be careful and push the right button is all I am saying.

I used MyOtherDrive before, but that site did not work so well with Macs. I was not able to access some of my files because of that.

Now all Mac computers have access to "The Cloud" and also to a service called Time Machine, which I may eventually switch to. But for now, BackBlaze is doing great for me.

Not my computer... zoom? Hmmm. photo by dmealiffe on Flickr

Anyway, now I can update the BGAMUG site, and did that today. I like having things back to normal! Have you ever had your computer go down? I miss mine when I don't have it! And now I'm happy to have my computer back.

Betsyanne
Webmaster, 2012
The BGAMUG Computer Club
Bowling Green, Kentucky

Join us on Facebook!
Visit our website!

Some more helpful sites:
The Place at beautiful Fountain Square, Bowling Green, Kentucky
Yahoo
BackBlaze
MyOtherDrive

And leave a comment too. I would love that.

You can see the original of the Altair photo at the Fotopedia site.

Join us April 24th - and about free computer classes

New art! I will probably change it again.

Our next meeting 

We at the BGAMUG Computer Club have a great presentation planned for our next meeting on April 24th. It's all about making wills and how to plan ahead for your family.

For some of us, this presentation is very timely. I know I have put redoing my will on my Must Do Soon List.

 As usual, guests are very welcome at the BGAMUG Computer Club meeting! Tell them Betsy set you.  

Free Computer Classes 

I list all the free computer classes each week on my Betsyanne site "From the Garden Spot plus BG Events." 

You can check there to find free computer classes offered by the library each week.

I hope everyone is having a great week!

Betsy S.
Webmaster
The BGAMUG Computer Club

PS Check out more about our next meeting here on the BGAMUG website.

PPS And join us on Facebook too - see you there. 

About our last meeting Tues. PM - learning about tablets and iPhones

I enjoyed our last BGAMUG Computer Club meeting Tuesday evening. 

We got to touch Jerry's tablet computer, and see how photos are easy to view. There are many kinds of tablets to choose from, and Jerry shared the story of getting his on sale. (I will add the name as soon as I can find the notes!)

Jeri showed us her iPhone, and explained it has two different cameras on it - one in front and one in back. I liked this feature.

Both people said they carry a tablet with them instead of a laptop when they go on vacation. A tablet is lighter and easier to carry.

People can upload photos many ways on a tablet too. Professional photographers may need to ask what is compatible with their tablet.

People talked also about Kindles. The latest Kindles will also take you online more. AND you can get many free ebooks to read on them.

I personally have a Kindle 3 which I won in an online contest. I like it, but it is darker than I like, so I will be adding a light to it soon.

Do you have a Kindle, a SmartPhone, iPhone, or tablet? Learning how they work, and trying out neat apps can be very fun. Plus, (as Jerry or Jeri said) you can keep up with your sons, daughters, and grandchildren if you learn how to use these new computers and phones.

Betsy S.
Webmaster, 2012
The BGAMUG Computer Club

Like us here on Facebook too.

Join us at our next meeting. Guests are welcome

Come join the BGAMUG Computer Club to learn about Tablets and iPhones next meeting on March 27th at 6:30.

Guests are welcomed with a smile.

We meet at the Bowling Green Technical College. There is a map of how to get there at the website. Just scroll down to see it.

I hope to see everyone there.

Betsy S.
Webmaster 2012
The BGAMUG Computer Club
Bowling Green, Kentucky

Bowling Green and area libraries free computer classes for March

Here are some upcoming FREE computer classes offered at library locations in and near Bowling Green, Kentucky. This list if from the ALIVE mailing I got today.

These classes are at different times, and are all free. You must pre-register to attend them. 


There are more free classes for February listed on the Moon and the Willow Tree blog Events page here.

"Upcoming Library Classes

Computer classes March 2012 Main Library

Call 781-4882 to reserve space

Introduction to Computers and the Internet

Thursday, March 1: 6-7 p.m.

Facebook for Beginners

Monday, March 5: 6-7:30 p.m.

MS Publisher

Tuesday, March 6: 2-3:30 p.m.

Introduction to Genealogy Resources

Wednesday, March 7: 10 a.m. - noon

Job Hunting Online

Wednesday, March 7: 6-7 p.m."

There are also classes at other library sites.

Check out the list from the library site: http://www.warrenpl.org/Adult-Events.html

And here is the ALIVE website: http://www.wku.edu/alive/.

Thanks, BGAMUG members!

You really came through.

 I had some visitors from BGAMUG to my mother's Celebration/Gathering after her death on February 1st. The Celebration Gathering was on Saturday, two days ago.

What a great surprise to see my friends from BGAMUG. I really appreciated that. That was such a great thing to do. They also wrote my column for the BGAMUG Newsletter.

These BGAMUG members also saw my Mom's pottery, and the great video that my daughter and her husband made for her.

Having those caring BGAMUG members visit me on that day really helped me get through it. Thanks, BGAMUG members!

You know who you are. Pat yourself on the back today. Or have that piece of cheesecake. Or do something else wonderful for yourself.

Betsy

My Mom's Remembrance Pages
The Pots Place pages (Mom helped start the Pots Place)

Mom's video of parts of her life is here:

Gene Iglehart helps get computers ready for Ecuador

The Ecuadorian Flag - via Clker.

Member in the News!

Our member Gene Iglehart is in the news again, this time in a Bowling Green Daily News article.

I shared this on Facebook at the BGAMUG page (click to go there), but thought other BGAMUG members would like to hear about it.

Here is a quote from the article quoting from both Mr. Iglehart and Lynn Hartley, C.I.O. for the City of Bowling Green, Kentucky.

"For three months, Igelhart worked to get the computers into a condition in which they would be functional for the youth in Ecuador.

“To me it’s a privilege and an honor,” Igelhart said.

Hartley applauded Igelhart’s efforts. “He stays busy and is a big inspiration to see how involved he is in the computer,” Hartley said."


Here is that article:

Work by WKU Students, city, provides computers to Ecuador community.

Good job, Gene, and everyone involved in this worthwhile project!

E. Sheppard
Webmaster
The BGAMUG Computer Club
Bowling Green, Kentucky

Fun computer humor sites and cartoons - I like them!

Computer, Geek, and Internet humor - I love it.

I love computer humor, AND the About.com site. I also love fun computer cartoons and jokes.

One of my favorite silly computer jokes is the one with the CD holder that somebody thinks is a coffee cup holder. It is hilarious! Jerry told it at a BGAMUG meeting once.

I was looking for a funny computer and internet site and found some good links at About.com's Computer and Internet Humor site.

OOPS - This cartoon is from free-cartoons.sangrea.net

I will definitely be back here. Today I tried the "computer strip" joke at the site, and then briefly glanced at the I Kiss You site (pretty old now, and I did not see the movie - I wonder where he is from...), and also the Funny Sites of the Day (last one is 2009 - this needs updating!)

Further clicks brought me to the Web Humor pages, which are more recent.

The site mentioned the Daily Cute site, is it ever cute! It is full of very cuddly and sweet animal pictures, which I like anyhow.

I do know about the Daily Kitten, which is a place that definitely makes you smile every visit.

I hope this posting brings a smile too!

Betsy Sheppard
WebMaster 2012
The BGAMUG Computer Club

Burning a CD. :-) Ar Ar Ar...

PS I used to know a fabulous newsgroup that was really funny. Everyone shared their latest jokes. Anyone else know some good humor sites?

Bowling Green's Free Computer Classes from the Warren County Libraries

Free computer classes in Bowling Green

Some people already know about these great classes that are at different libraries in Bowling Green. They are offered on different days and times. You must pre-register by phone to be in these classes.
Here is a list for this week:


Wednesday, October 12th

A free computer class, E-mail for Beginners, is at the Main Branch library from 6-7 p.m. You must pre-register to attend. Call 781-4882.

Thursday, October 13th

A free computer class, Email for Intermediates, is today from 2-3 p.m. at the Main branch library. You must pre-register to attend. 781-4882.

Another free computer class, Facebook for Beginners, is at the Bob Kirby Branch library from 6-7 p.m. You must pre-register to attend. Call 782-0252.

Friday, October 14th

A free computer class is today from 2-3 p.m., Introduction to Macs, at the Bob Kirby brach library. You must pre-register to attend. Call 782-0252.

Please pre-register and double-check all days, times, and locations for these, please. Thanks!

I have listed more events on my regular Things to Do Blog for this week. You can find more computer classes in the future there too.

The Bowling Green magazine, SoKy Happenings, lists the free computer classes each month in their magazine and online.

Also, the Warren County Library Website has downloadable events schedules on their website.

E. Sheppard
Webmaster for the BGAMUG Computer Club, 2011

BGAMUG Officers meeting is tomorrow - a reminder.

Hi all!

Just a reminder, the BGAMUG Officers Meeting is tomorrow. Guests from the club are welcome. The meeting is at the Catfish House. If you want dinner, come at 5:30, otherwise the meeting starts at 6:30 for everyone else.

Jerry sent the officers and others the paperwork, so if you plan to attend, get with him for a copy of that if you already don't have one.

I hope you had a great Labor Day Weekend. See you there!

Betsy

From Bowling Green, Kentucky? Come and be our guest.

Guests and visitors are most welcome at BGAMUG Computer Club meetings. Our next meeting is on Tuesday, July 26th.

We have computer information at the meeting, plus lots of free advice. Plus, it's a great place to meet new people.

Do you have a personal computer that you would like to find out more about? Come join us.

We also have door prizes, handouts, and more. I hope to see you there.

Enjoying the meeting and talking with a microphone.

Getting ready for a conversation!

E. Sheppard
Webmaster
The BGAMUG Computer Club

* Our website
* Our Facebook page

The BGAMUG Computer Club meeting yesterday went great!

About Last Night's Meeting of the BGAMUG Computer Club

 Jerry G. shared lots of tips last night about lots of subjects at our June 2011 meeting. I took a lot of notes too.

Jerry shared about how to print out items larger than regular size, free education on the internet, other selling sites besides Ebay, how to put pictures on a computer, what to do when your computer freezes, scanning documents with an OCR program, resizing photos, free education sites, how to save money using online sites, how to streamline your startup information for Windows, and a few SEO tips.

Members shared their liking for Expedia, Priceline, Southwest.com, Travelocity, SoKyShop, the Bowling Green Craiglist site (because you can actually meet a seller) and Hotel.com. Jerry suggests playing with these to see what happens.

Other good advice: use your security programs!

Here are some free education site links from last night's presentation:
http://www.homeandlearn.co.uk
http://www.gcflearnfree.org/computers

This is just PART of what Jerry talked about. Come to our next meeting as our guest (it's free)  to find out even more.

Later!
E. Sheppard
Webmaster
The BGAMUG Computer Club

The next meeting: (info from the BGAMUG website)

Our July program is A Followup on Applications You Use by Jerry G. "You can save a lot of time with Jerry's Email tips. Bring a notepad and pen, you'll be sure to want to writte down things you learn at this meeting. The meeting is on Tuesday, July 26th, and starts at 6:30. The Geneology Sig meeting is at 5:15 for people interested in finding out about their family roots. The public is warmly invited."