Meetings

Sharan Kalwani, president of SEMCO, will start the meeting and make general announcements.

We will be using Zoom for this meeting. This link will be active on the day of the meeting.

Click here to be connected to the meeting. Please join the meeting around 1:00 PM or later.

Members will also receive an e-mail on the day of the meeting, with the link and any further details and instructions about how to log into the meeting.

When: Sunday, Oct 8, 2023, at 1:15 P.M.
Where: Meetings will be online until further notice.

Sig Computing Topic: Free Online Computer Training

Presented by Francis Chao

Your computer and its Internet connection can provide you with hundreds of hours of free training that you can access in the comfort of your home.

Francis Chao is a volunteer for the APCUG organization. He has been presenting for them for the past 13 years. He is currently a member of the Tucson Computer Society where he maintains an online presence via Zoom since he now lives in California. Francis is an avid user of Windows.., macOS, and Linux computers.

Also: Questions and Answers following the presentation.

When: Sunday, Oct 8, 2023 at 1:30 P.M.

Where: Meetings will be online until further notice. Click on the link shown above.

SIG-Linux Topic: Some Essential and Useful Linux Commands

Presented by Sharan Kalwani

In the SEMCO world, we all know that Linux is a popular open-source operating system that is based on the open-source Linux kernel. We also know that it is widely used in 99% of cloud environments to support heavy-duty production workloads and run crucial enterprise applications. However, it appears that a now old notion STILL persists that Linux is meant for power users and enterprise environments. And that admin tasks are done with the command line interface (CLI) by running commands on a terminal console.

Today in general, modern Linux distributions provide a desktop environment and Graphical User Interface (GUI) that makes it easy to use the system. We have reviewed many popular desktop Linux distributions (distros) such as Ubuntu, Debian, Zorin, Elementary Linux, etc. Regardless of the numerous distros, IMHO a popular way is still to use the CLI.

So, knowing several Linux commands will help run one manage a Linux system. We will list many of the common ones.

When: Sunday, Oct 8, 2023 at 3:00 P.M.

Where: Meetings will be online until further notice. Click on the link shown above.

Sharan Kalwani, president of SEMCO, will start the meeting and make general announcements.

We will be using zoom for this meeting. This link will be active on day of meeting.

Click here to be connected to the meeting. Please join the meeting about 1:00 PM or later.

Members will also receive an e mail on the day of the meeting, with the link and any further details and instructions about how to log on to the meeting.

When: Sunday, Sept 10, 2023, at 1:15 P.M.
Where: Meetings will be on line until further notice.

Sig Computing Topic: Troubleshooting Your Computer 101

Presented by Judy Taylour

Before you make that $99 tech support call, you can do many easy things to troubleshoot problems you encounter with your computer. Can’t start your computer? Does your hard drive make grinding noises? Is it taking forever to start? Does it randomly turn off and restart? Has your printer stopped working? This presentation covers problems and solutions that might help if and when…..

Judy is a 35-year member of the Santa Clarita Valley Computer Club, where she serves as President and Webmaster. In addition, she co-facilitated the Southern California Regional User Group Summit (SCRUGS), a group of computer clubs in Southern California that met quarterly for over 20 years to share ideas, presenter information, solve problems, etc. Information shared at the meetings helped two groups remain active.

She spent 23 years volunteering with the Southwest Technology Conference held in San Diego for 20 years and three years at Cal Poly Pomona. In addition, Judy served as chair or co-chair for 21 years. Her responsibilities included registration, scheduling speakers, and working with the volunteers.

Judy taught adult education technology classes for over 20 years through her local high school district. She firmly believes in life-long learning and enjoys giving presentations via APCUG’s Speakers Bureau.

She is a member of the Los Angeles FBI Senior Scams Working Group. In addition, Judy is a Pierce College Computer Applications and Technologies Department Advisory Committee member. They meet annually to suggest courses and hardware for the next school year. 

Also: Questions and Answers following the presentation.

When: Sunday, Sept 10, 2023 at 1:30 P.M.

Where: Meetings will be on line until further notice. Click on link shown above.

SIG-Linux Topic: Exploring fun things to do with Linux

Presented by Sharan Kalwani

The beauty of Linux is that one can do a  lot of fun things with it (and I don’t mean console video games).

A lot of ASCII text based stuff and some graphics.

We will explore about 40 minutes of amusing entertainment, which will delight the younger version of you.

Also: Questions and Answers following the presentation.

Where: Meetings will be on line until further notice. Click on link shown above.

When: Sunday, Sept 10, 2023, at 3:00 P.M.

When: Saturday, Aug 19, 2023,

Meeting has been cancelled for Aug.

Where: Richard Jackson’s home. Call Richard Jackson at 248-546-3694 for directions.

Richard Jackson, vice president of SEMCO, will start the meeting and make general announcements.

We will be using zoom for this meeting. This link will be active on day of meeting.

Click here to be connected to the meeting. Please join the meeting about 1:00 PM or later.

Members will also receive an e mail on the day of the meeting, with the link and any further details and instructions about how to log on to the meeting.

When: Sunday, Aug13, 2023, at 1:15 P.M.
Where: Meetings will be on line until further notice.

Sig Computing Topic: Encryption Software

Presented by Mark Shulman

How can you prevent your private data leaks out into the world? Losing a flash drive, having your laptop stolen, or having someone spy on your email doesn’t have to mean that that bad guys see your private information.  Learn how to use encryption software to protect your private data on PCs, laptops, external hard drives, USB flash drives, and even smartphones.  The presentation demonstrates several free software apps that make encryption easy to use for anyone.

Mark Schulman has spent his career as a computer instructor, software designer, and small business owner.  He has taught a wide-range of computer and programming courses for major corporations and worked on large software development projects.  He currently works as the IT manager for a group of family practice physicians and for a small company that runs clinical drug trials.  His major geek interest these days is the computer technology that made the moon landings possible in the 1960s.  He lives near Orlando, Florida.

Also: Questions and Answers following the presentation.

When: Sunday, Aug13, 2023 at 1:30 P.M.

Where: Meetings will be on line until further notice. Click on link shown above.

SIG-Linux Topic: No topic this month

Presented by Sharan Kalwani

No topic this month

Also: Questions and Answers following the presentation.

Where: Meetings will be on line until further notice. Click on link shown above.

When: Sunday, Aug 13, 2023, at 3:00 P.M.

When: Saturday, July 15, 2023, Meeting has been cancelled for July.

See you in Aug.

Sharan Kalwani, president of SEMCO, will start the meeting and make general announcements.

We will be using zoom for this meeting. This link will be active on day of meeting.

Click here to be connected to the meeting. Please join the meeting about 1:00 PM or later.

Members will also receive an e mail on the day of the meeting, with the link and any further details and instructions about how to log on to the meeting.

When: Sunday, July 9, 2023, at 1:15 P.M.
Where: Meetings will be on line until further notice.

SIG Computing Topic: Recovering Data from a Hard Drive

Presented by Francis Chao

When confronted with hard drive problems, you should perform low-risk, less invasive procedures first,
followed by increasingly aggressive, higher risk procedures.
As you perform these increasingly invasive procedures, you will either repair the hard drive and return it to service or at some point you might decide that it is beyond economical repair.

The various sub-topics for recovering data from hard drives are explained at

https://aztcs.apcug.org/meeting_notes/meeting_notes.htm

Francis Chao is a volunteer for the APCUG organization. He has been presenting for them for the past 13 years. He is currently a member of the Tucson Computer Society where he maintains an online presence via Zoom since he now lives in California. Francis is an avid user of Windows.., macOS, and Linux computers. His current list of presentations is available at http://aztcs.apcug.org/fc.pdf

Also: Questions and Answers following the presentation.

When: Sunday, July 9, 2023 at 1:30 P.M.

Where: Meetings will be on line until further notice. Click on link shown above.

SIG-Linux Topic: Endless OS distro

Presented by Sharan Kalwani

We last spoke about the Linux kernel several months ago. During the last week of June 2023, a number of enhancements were released – which we will discuss and assess the impacts of those. Also, we have a brief experience on a new Linux distro to share – Endless OS. So what is special about this? Most of the tools are geared to be used in an offline mode, i.e not dependent on the internet to be around….I find that interesting, as I am often on the road w/o a decent connection.

Also: Questions and Answers following the presentation.

Where: Meetings will be on line until further notice. Click on link shown above.

When: Sunday, July 9, 2023, at 3:00 P.M.

When: Saturday, June 17, 2023, at 2 PM.

 Rick Fink will demonstrate a new card game program for baccarat. He plans to write and demonstrate a baccarat Monte Carlo simulation to figure out how often a player wins with a given score and the banker wins with a given score.

Where: Richard Jackson’s home. Call Richard Jackson at 248-546-3694 for directions.

Sharan Kalwani, president of SEMCO, will start the meeting and make general announcements.

We will be using zoom for this meeting. This link will be active on day of meeting.

Click here to be connected to the meeting. Please join the meeting about 1:00 PM or later.

Members will also receive an e mail on the day of the meeting, with the link and any further details and instructions about how to log on to the meeting.

When: Sunday, Jun 11, 2023, at 1:15 P.M.
Where: Meetings will be on line until further notice.

Sig Computing Topic: Cell Phone Basics

Presented by Francis Chao

Your iPhone or Android mobile phone is actually 6 separate radio
transmitter-receivers in a very compact device. If you get a working understanding of the details of these 6 transmitter-receivers, you can make better use of your mobile phone and save money:
o  6 transmitter-receivers in an iPhone or Android cell phone:
    Cellular transceiver,
    Wi-Fi transceiver, Global navigation
    Satellite System (GNSS) receiver = GPS, etc.),
    Bluetooth transceiver,
    Near-field Communication (NFC)
    and
    FM radio receiver
o  Not having a data plan so that Wi-Fi is the cell phone’s only Internet connection
o  Having a data plan but using mainly Wi-Fi for the cell phone’s Internet access
o  Various apps use different combinations of the 6 transmitter-receivers
o  Use the “MyGPSCoordinates” and/or “GPS Status” apps to get your
    latitude/longitude location from the GNSS receiver
o  “Cellular 911”
o  3G shutdown
o  Cell phone tracking

Francis Chao is a volunteer for the APCUG organization. He has been presenting for them for the past 13 years. He is currently a member of the Tucson Computer Society where he maintains an online presence via Zoom since he now lives in California. Francis is an avid user of Windows.., macOS, and Linux computers. His current list of presentations is available at http://aztcs.apcug.org/fc.pdf

Also: Questions and Answers following the presentation.

When: Sunday, Jun 11, 2023 at 1:30 P.M.

Where: Meetings will be on line until further notice. Click on link shown above.

SIG-Linux Topic: No topic this month

Presented by Sharan Kalwani

No topic this month

Also: Questions and Answers following the presentation.

Where: Meetings will be on line until further notice. Click on link shown above.

When: Sunday, Jun 11, 2023, at 3:00 P.M.

When: Saturday, May 20, 2023, Meeting has been cancelled for May.

See you in June