Transcript
The Official Communiqué Of The Gravenhurst Probus Computer Club Minutes of Club Meeting, Wednesday, January 13th, 2010 Today’s attendance 13 members Although several of our regular members were away we welcomed two new attendees. Welcome Jan and Helen Juurlink!
Topics Discussed Topic 1. Configuring a Wireless Connection With two new laptops at the meeting and several of us ready to travel somewhere warmer, the topic of how to discover available wireless networks and connect to one of them was a timely topic. Regardless of whether you operating system is XP, Vista or Windows 7, the Control Panel is where to find network configuration utilities. Additionally, most laptop configurations have a wireless connection icon at the bottom right corner of your screen which displays connectivity information and provides a link to the Control Panel, Network and Sharing Centre. Select “Connect to a Wireless Network” or “View Available Networks” to discover networks broadcasting in your area. If a network shows a security level using encryption such as WEP or WPA, then you must know the security code to use to connect when prompted by its router. If it shows “unsecured” then you can normally connect and begin to use that network. (Some administrators have an open network but require that you register your computer’s MAC address before use.) Once you see the network that you would like to connect to, select it and select “connect”. If it is an open network the router will issue a connection IP address to your computer and you can begin to use the web and get your email messages. This is great when you are travelling but not staying at a hotel. Good places to find unsecured networks are near libraries, coffee shops and generally you can find many available around most densely populated buildings such as apartments. If you are using a friend’s or resort’s network, they will give you their security code and you’ll have to enter it when prompted. Once you configure the network connection it will remain in your computer and automatically connect the next time that you are within its range. This is ideal when visiting your kids, the computer club, etc. Most networks are configured to support all existing wireless protocols B, G & N although you may find some that do not support 802.11b because it is so old.
This only has an impact on anyone with a very old wireless card and if your laptop is that old you should probably just get rid of it. (lol) Topic 2. Downloading Videos from Youtube If you are a Youtube devotee, there have probably been times when you would like to have been able to download a video to keep a copy on your computer. There are both free and chargeable programs available to do this. The most elegant application that I am aware of is designed to work in the Mozilla web browser called Firefox. Firefox is a free alternative program to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and considered by most tech critics as superior and less prone to attacks. If you are using Firefox click on this link to take you to the Video Download Helper add on. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3006 Next click on “add to Firefox” >then “Install” This program is terrific and an animated icon of 3 coloured ball begins to rotate when it detects any audio or video content available for download from the site that you are currently browsing. This utility will also convert files to other formats but that’s for another discussion. For those using Windows Internet Explorer, there are programs that can be installed and run as separate applications that can do the same job. The following link will take you to one of these free programs. http://www.dvdvideosoft.com/products/dvd/Free-YouTube-Download.htm Follow the site’s instructions to download and install. This program will not convert files but some others will. To find other similar programs Google “free video download programs” Topic 3. Sourcing Replacement Laptop Batteries In addition to sourcing replacement batteries from the computer manufacturer, John Garrow introduced the group to Total Battery in Barrie, Ontario. Although they may be able to supply a generic or rebuilt battery from stock you may have to leave your own battery for rebuilding but the low price is the reward. Although we had no specific prices for laptop batteries, John has used their services many times for other hobby applications with great satisfaction. If you’d like to check it out and get a quote, here’s their website link http://www.totalbattery.com/
Topic 4. Apple Itunes and Ipod Configuration We took a look at Carole Black’s new Ipod and briefly demonstrated initialization and configuration of the Itunes program and the Ipod. This is far too large a topic
to document with notes, however, there are many good tutorials at the Apple website documenting configuration and features of the Ipod and Itunes. Here’s a link for them http://www.apple.com/itunes/ Topic 5. Purchasing a Wireless Router As the meeting was drawing to a close, Jan and Helen Juurlink had asked for recommendations for wireless routers. Generally speaking any Linksys or Dlink router is a good choice. They are the two giants in the industry with a strong track record. Although a good 802.11g router is adequate for any home application not using a wireless media extender, the emerging standard is 802.11n. Most N routers are only about $10 more than the G versions and position your network for years of future compatibility plus they support the G and old B connections as well. The current Futureshop flier features 4 choices of wireless N routers from Dlink and Linksys ranging from $49.99 for a Dlink DIR-601N(plenty good for most homes) to $69.99 for the extended range Linksys WRT-160N. Many G routers can be had for about $35 to $40 if you watch for sales. Next Meeting The next meeting will offer something new. Several members wanted to know how/when/if they should clean their laptop chassis. Next month we will clean our laptops using proper static control techniques and compressed air canisters manufactured for the task. I will supply the static strap, compressed air canisters and anti static bags. The remainder of the time will follow the regular format with questions on any topic open for discussion. Until February Byte Me, Barrie
