Vol. 28 number 3 March 2011 The newsletter of the Ottawa PC Users' Group Calendar OPCUG General Meeting National Museum of Science and Technology 1867 St. Laurent Blvd. Second (*first) Wednesday of each month, 7:30pm Beginner SIG After the OPCUG General Meeting, at the Museum. Linux SIG After the OPCUG General Meeting, at the Museum. Beer BOF (Wing SIG East), after all the SIGs, at 10 p.m. Liam Maguire's, 1705 St. Laurent at Innes (formerly Hooters) Please note that unless otherwise noted, SIGs meet at 9:00 p.m. (immediately following the OPCUG General Meeting). ____________________________ Coming Up... March 9, 2011 Speaker: Rick Claus of Microsoft Canada Title: Consumer Technology Innovation with Cloud Integration As people spend more and more time fully connected online, the line between your computer and the Internet is being blurred more and more. What does "Cloud Integration" mean to the way your computer deals with data? Can you now take advantage of computing power "out there somewhere"? Does it matter where your data is stored? What about security? Come out and listen to Rick Claus, OPCUG member and Sr. Technology Evangelist for Microsoft Canada discuss the power and capabilities that are there now and what's to come. ____________________________ March Raffle As of the newsletter deadline, a decision on what the March raffle prize will be had not been finalized. Watch for the Announcements list message that will go out the weekend of March 5th for details. ____________________________ February Prize Winners The winner of the copy of Windows 7 Ultimate from the raffle at the February 9th meeting was... wait for it... That's right... Morris Turpin, ticket salesman extraordinaire! Congratulations to Morris and thanks to Microsoft for the kind donation of the prize. ____________________________ President's Report The OPCUG in 2010 Each year, it is the President's duty - and privilege - to report on the past year's activities. It is always good to reflect on where we have been to help frame where we should go. We had a wonderful line-up of speakers for our general meetings. We kicked off the new year with our popular Member's Favourites. I showed how to use The PUB. Alan German and Harald Freise showed some really nifty programs. In February, Bruce Cowper from Microsoft gave a version of their popular seminar Hack and Defend which shows how hackers attack web sites and how site owners can defend against those hacks. March brought one of the most fascinating and entertaining talks I recall in recent years - David Skoll from Roaring Penguin Software showed us how SMTP mail works, how spammers exploit weaknesses in the protocol, and how anti-spam companies battle back. April was another incredibly interesting meeting with Richard Brisson giving a talk about how the Allies dealt with the German code machine Enigma in WW-II. Former OPCUG President Bert Schopf came out in May to show us how we can fix our digital images to make them all we envisioned when we took them. The fact that he did horrible things to your humble President's handsome face ... well, maybe we shouldn't go there! We wrapped up the spring season in June with our Pizza-Q followed by a presentation by Evelyn Watts from Corel on CorelDRAW. Now at version 15, CorelDRAW continues to amaze with the things you can do with it. We started the fall with Paul Godin, co-founder of Club Linux Gatineau, and a presentation on Linux 101. Hopefully, Linux became a little less scary to some who have never experienced this mature, capable, and free, operating system. Brian Glaser from Orleans Computers spoke in October about the latest in PC hardware. While having a computer custom-built for you might end up a little more expensive than the ones you might find at a big box store, Brian did a great job of explaining what you get for your money. I know of a couple of members (myself included) who have since bought computers at Orleans Computer. In November, Chris Ellis from McAfee Canada came out to talk about The State of Network & System Security. I missed the meeting, but having heard Chris talk on that subject at other venues recently, I know it was an excellent presentation! We wrapped up the year as we began it, with a Member's Favourite night. Jeff Dubois gave us a fascinating talk on free and inexpensive phone service through VoIP. When Harald Freise said he wanted to talk about PUS, I was worried. Until I found out it was Possibly Useful Software. Alan German reached into his deep bag of free software to show us some real gems. I showed how to keep all your software patched for security vulnerabilities for free with Secunia's Personal Software Inspector. I hope everyone enjoyed the presentations as much as I did. And don't forget, the OPCUG is your user group. If you have an idea for a presentation, talk to the Program Chair! The OPCUG continued to make itself known in the community through presentations at various branches of the Ottawa Public Library. A total of 10 presentations were given. 2010 saw a new member join the Board of Directors - Andrea Wells. Andrea, a Linux enthusiast, started with leading the Linux/Open Source SIG and willingly stepped into the position of Program Chair when Andrew MacLeod stepped down from the Board. I would like to extend my thanks on behalf of all members to all who were board members in 2010; Andrea Wells, Alan German, Gail Eagen, Brigitte Lord, Morris Turpin, Bob Walker, Wayne Houston, Bob Gowan, and Andrew MacLeod. As well, I would like to thank those who have stepped up to the plate again and again to help with the operations of the Group; Jocelyn Doire, Mark Cayer, Bert Schopf, and Bob Herres. Thanks to Richard Aylesworth for reviewing the financial records. Finally, a big thanks to members who gave presentations to the Group; Alan German, Harald Freise, Bert Schopf, and Jeff Dubois. It is hard to end on a sad note, but I would be remiss if I failed to mention that, in October, we lost Don Chiasson, a long-time member who had served the Group as a board member and SIG leader, after a battle with cancer. Don was ever willing to help out wherever he could and he lived up to the OPCUG motto Users Helping Users. He will be missed. ____________________________ Secretary's Report for 2010/2011 Board Members The Board of Directors was announced on February 10, 2010 at the Annual General Meeting. The Board selected positions resulting in the following slate of officers: Chris Taylor, President and Systems Administrator Gail Eagen, Secretary Alan German, Treasurer to transition to Meeting Co-ordinator Bob Gowan, Special Events Coordinator Wayne Houston, Privacy Brigitte Lord, Webmaster and Newsletter Morris Turpin, Publicity Bob Walker, Facilities Andrew Macleod, Director without Portfolio to transition to Treasurer In the summer, Andrew MacLeod resigned for personal reasons. Alan German kept his role of Treasurer and early fall Andrea Wells joined the Board and agreed to take on the role of Meeting Co-ordinator. Board Meetings The Board met 12 times on Feb 15, Mar 15, Apr 19, May 17, Jun 14, Aug 17, Sep 13, Oct 18, Nov 15, Dec 13, 2010, Jan 17, 2010 and Feb 14, 2010. Topics discussed included: Meeting Co-ordinator, Program Raffle and door prizes, Facilities Co ordinator, Treasurer's Report, System Administrator, Webmaster Newsletter Reviews and Articles, Membership, Public Relations, Secretary, President, Privacy, Special Events Coordinator, New Business Most of the discussion at meeting related to creating the program, ensuring raffle and door prizes for the meetings, and ensuring articles for the Newsletter. Major decisions made: - To continue to give presentations at various Ottawa Public Libraries - To accept Richard Aylesworth's offer to review the Treasurer's financial records for 2010/11 - To accept the report by Richard Aylesworth who reviewed the Treasurer's records for 2010/11 with the Treasurer's comments and recommendations on actions - To write off two clocks which were missing from the inventory - To write off an old computer that was used for workshops in the past - To accept Andrea Wells as a replacement Board member for Andrew MacLeod who resigned for personal reasons Meeting Topics February 10 (2010): Hack & Defend (Bruce Cowper, Microsoft) March 10: The State of Spam and Spam-Fighting (David Skoll, Roaring Penguin Software) April 14: Codebreaking Enigma - The World War II challenge then and today (Richard Brisson of Bletchley Park) May 12: Photo Editing - Bert Schopf (Blackbird PCD) June 9: Pizza Night and Evelyn Watts (Corel Corporation) September: Linux 101 - What Every Windows' User Should Know (Paul Godin) October: Selecting a Computer (Brian Glaser, Orleans Computers) November: The State of Network and System Security (Chris Ellis, McAfee) December: Members Favourites January (2011): Social Networking (Chris Taylor and Andrea Wells) Raffle Prizes Thanks to the following companies for their donations for raffle and door prizes this year: Corel Corporation for Ulead DVD MovieFactory 6 Plus, VideoStudio Pro X2, Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 Ultimate Edition, CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X5, and Corel WordPerfect Standard x4 EASEUS for Partition Master Professional Edition and EASEUS Partition Table Doctor Microsoft Most Valuable Professional program for three copies of Windows 7 Ultimate McAfee for two copies of McAfee Total Protection 2011 Election Bob Herres agreed for a fourth year to be Election Chair. Calls for nominations were done in the Newsletter and at meetings through the fall. Nine nominations were received by the due date of December 31, 2010. Since there were only nine nominations, no election was required. Thanks again to Bob Herres for taking on this role. Annual General Meeting The Annual General Meeting was held on February 9, 2010. 1. Chris Taylor, President, announced that they were only nine nominations and thus the Board was acclaimed. The newly elected Board was announced: Board Members are: Gail Eagen, Alan German, Bob Gowan, Wayne Houston, Brigitte Lord, Chris Taylor, Morris Turpin, Bob Walker, Andrea Wells He thanked Bob Herres for once again carrying out the duties of Election Chair. 2. The President's report will be published in the March Newsletter. 3. The Treasurer's Report for the calendar year 2010 was presented by Alan German. Alan stated that the report was published in the February, 2011 newsletter. Alan reported on a book keeping error reported by the reviewer of the financial books - a payment of $25 was reported against membership and should have been reported as other income because it was a donation. He stated that it did not change the overall financial situation and the correction has been made. Alan said incomes were up due to more raffle income and thanked Morris Turpin for handling the raffle and Chris for soliciting raffle prizes. He noted that expenses were down due to a move from Bell to Freenet for Internet provision. He also said that the major expense this year was cheques but those would last for 3-4 years. He also indicated the Pizza Night was more expensive this year due to ordering more pizzas. There were no questions of comments. 4. Chris thanked Richard Aylesworth for Scrutinizing the Treasurer's financial records. 5. The Membership thanked the Board for their efforts. There were no questions or other issues raised. Submitted by Gail Eagen, Secretary, OPCUG ____________________________ Article Google Maps Error by Jocelyn Doire Google maps are a rich source of information and are generally very reliable, but sometime errors occur and details get missed; I happened to notice that one of the park's names in Ottawa had a spelling error (should be Aladdin, not Alladin) and another one had no name on it (Judge Park). I wondered if it could be fixed and sure enough after a bit of Googling I found out about a "Report a problem" link at the bottom of the map, something I never noticed before. So I clicked on it and got a little window that let me enter a description, and then move a yellow marker showing where exactly the problem is located. Since I was interested to see if my report would go somewhere, I selected to get an email when the problem would be resolved (you need to login first). To my surprise, only a couple of days later I got a reply confirming the problem and that it would be fixed. Probably it helped that I included a link to the city of Ottawa's site in the description, which is fairly authoritative in the matter. "Your Google Maps problem report has been reviewed, and you were right! We'll update the map soon and email you when you can see the change." Well, the map was not updated soon... I got the initial confirmation in July, in October I noticed quite by accident that the map had been updated, and finally in Nov I got the notices from Google that the changes had occurred: "Google Maps has been updated to correct the problem you reported. You can see the update here, and if you still see a problem, please tell us more about the issue: Link to view and/or reopen issue" Well, I'm not complaining, not at all, my two reports were a very small contribution in the grand scheme of things but still it felt kind of nice to be able to participate to this amazing achievement that is Google maps. ____________________________ Article The Windows 7 Way - Desktop icons by Chris Taylor In Windows 7, you can resize the desktop icons. All you have to do is right-click a blank area of the desktop, choose View from the pop-up menu and then choose between Large icons, Medium icons, and Small icons. But a choice of only three sizes? That's boring! For a greater range of sizes, click any blank spot on the desktop, hold down the Ctrl key and roll the wheel on your mouse. You can scroll through 28 sizes for your desktop icons! ____________________________ OPCUG Free Software Guide - Part 19 Compiled by Alan German, Chris Taylor and Dunc Petrie This guide features an annotated list of free computer programs. The software mentioned has not been reviewed (except where noted) nor have any tests necessarily been conducted. Consequently, no guarantees are provided that the individual programs will perform as described. Rather the list of available software is provided for the information of our members who may find one or more of the pro- grams useful. If you try one of the listed items, you are encouraged to share your experience, good or bad, by providing a brief review of the program for a future issue of the newsletter. CombineZP This open-source image processing software blends the focused areas of several partially-focused digital photographs to create a composite photograph. The technique - called image stacking - creates extended depth of field by using the in-focus areas of each image. The author's web site is short on detail, but an example of the process is shown at: http://tinyurl.com/3yhlxpr Current Release: 06-Jun-10 Web Site: http://www.hadleyweb.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/ Doxillion Document Converter Use this free program to convert files between a range of document formats. You can quickly change docx, doc, rtf, html and txt files to another format, including the creation of PDF files. A batch file converter lets you easily process multiple files. Current Release: Beta version Web Site: http://www.nchsoftware.com/documentconvert/ FixWin The solutions to repair 50 common Windows annoyances, issues and problems have been categorized under five tabs, namely: Windows Explorer, Internet & Connectivity, Windows Media, System Tools, and Misc Additional Fixes. Have a problem with Windows? Look up the fix! Current Release: Version 1.2 Web Site: http://www.thewindowsclub.com/repair-fix-windows- 7-vista-problems-with-fixwin-utility Paint.NET Paint.NET is free image and photo editing software for Windows. It features an intuitive and innovative user interface, with support for layers, unlimited undo, special effects, and a wide variety of other useful and powerful tools. An active and growing online community provides friendly help, tutorials, and plugins. Current Release: Version 3.5.5 Web Site: http://www.getpaint.net/ HDClone The free edition of this program clones an entire hard disk to a second drive. Use it for migrating an existing installation to a new hard disk or for rescuing data. HDClone works independently of the disk's partitioning scheme, file system, and the operating system. Current Release: Version 3.9 Web Site: http://www.miray.de Geni Do you keep meaning to start the family off on that genealogy project? Well, this web-based application may be just what you need. Set up your basic family tree, then have the rest of the gang log in and fill in the blanks. As your tree grows, Geni automatically looks for matches in other family trees. You'll be notified of possible matches, possibly enabling your tree to grow even faster. Web Site: http://www.geni.com Amazing Jigsaw Solve a jigsaw puzzle on-screen. The game features simple drag-and-drop controls with the ability to rotate pieces to any angle. The program will run under Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP and Vista. Web Site: http://www.freegamepick.com/en/puzzle.html ____________________________ OPCUG Free Software Guide - Part 20 Compiled by Alan German This guide features an annotated list of free computer programs. The software mentioned has not been reviewed (except where noted) nor have any tests necessarily been conducted. Consequently, no guarantees are provided that the individual programs will perform as described. Rather the list of available software is provided for the information of our members who may find one or more of the pro- grams useful. If you try one of the listed items, you are encouraged to share your experience, good or bad, by providing a brief review of the program for a future issue of the newsletter. Seven Remix XP Are you still running Windows XP, but want your system to look like Windows 7? You need Seven Remix XP. Lots of your system files will be replaced, and the registry modified. But, if you don't like the final result, the package can be completely removed. Release: Version 2.4 Web Site: http://sevenxp.niwradsoft.com/ IMDb Do you argue with your friends about film stars and movie directors? Do you want to cheat on such questions in Trivial Pursuit? IMDb - The Internet Movie Database - is freely accessible on-line and has all the film information that you could ever want. Web Site: http://www.imdb.com/ PureText This tiny utility removes formatting from text on the Windows clipboard and lets you paste the unformatted text into any application. Run the PureText.exe file and use the Windows-V hot key combination to paste the text. Or, click on the PT icon in the task bar to remove any text formatting, and use the regular Ctrl-V hot key to paste the unformatted text. Current Release: Version 2.0 Web Site: http://www.stevemiller.net/puretext/ Fotobounce Organize digital pictures of your family and friends using facial recognition. Fotobounce will automatically identify and tag photographs that include specific individuals. You can arrange your photos. in albums and easily share them through Facebook or Flickr. Current Release: Version 2.0 Web Site: http://fotobounce.com ProcessScanner So, you run Task Manager and find lots of active processes running on your computer. But, what are they actually doing? This utility, from Uniblue, will generate a list of all the processes, supply details about what each does, and indicate any associated level of risk, or threat. Web Site: http://www.processlibrary.com/processscan/ KeePass Password Safe Coming from SourceForge, this is a free, open source, light- weight and easy-to-use password manager for Windows. You can store all of your passwords in a highly-encrypted database, which is locked with one master password or key file. Current Release: Version 2.10 Web Site: http://sourceforge.net/projects/keepass/ WavePad Sound Editor Software This powerful sound editor for Windows and Mac lets you record and edit music, voice and other audio recordings. It supports all popular audio file formats, and includes a CD ripper. You can apply special effects and even create ringtones. A free version of WavePad is available for non- commercial use only. Web Site: http://www.nch.com.au/wavepad Ad-Aware Free This venerable package features real-time anti-spyware protection, keeping you safe from password stealers, keyloggers, spyware, rootkits, trojans, online fraudsters, identity thieves and other potential cyber criminals. Web Site: http://www.lavasoft.com/products/ad_aware_free.php ____________________________ OTTAWA PC NEWS Ottawa PC News is the newsletter of the Ottawa PC Users' Group (OPCUG), and is published monthly except in July and August. The opinions expressed in this newsletter may not necessarily represent the views of the club or its members. Member participation is encouraged! If you would like to contribute an article to Ottawa PC News, please submit it to the newsletter editor (contact info below). Deadline for submissions is three Saturdays before the General Meeting. Group meetings OPCUG normally meets on the second Wednesday in the month, except in July and August, at the National Museum of Science and Technology, 1867 St. Laurent Blvd, Ottawa. Meetings are 7:30-9:00 p.m. and Special Interest Groups go until 10 p.m. Fees: OPCUG annual membership: $25 per year. Mailing address: 3 Thatcher St., Nepean, Ontario, K2G 1S6 Web address: http://opcug.ca/ Bulletin Board - PUB II (BBS): http://opcug.ca/default.htm President and System Administrator: Chris Taylor, chris.taylor@@opcug.ca, 613 727-5453 Meeting Coordinator: Andrea Wells, andrea.wells@@opcug.ca Treasurer: Alan German, alan.german@@opcug.ca Secretary: Gail Eagan, gail.Eagan@@opcug.ca Membership Chairman: Mark Cayer, Mark.Cayer@@opcug.ca, 613 823-0354 Newsletter: Brigitte Lord, Brigittelord@@opcug.ca Email: (Mr.)Jocelyn Doire, Jocelyn.Doire@@opcug.ca Public Relations: Morris Turpin, PR@@opcug.ca, 613 729-6955 Facilities: Bob Walker, 613 489-2084 Webmaster: Brigitte Lord, opcug-webmaster2@@opcug.ca Privacy Director: Wayne Houston, privacy2@@opcug.ca Special Events Coordinator: Bob Gowan, bob.gowan@@opcug.ca Beginners' SIG Coordinator: Chris Taylor, chris.taylor@@opcug.ca, 613 727-5453 Linux / Open-Source software SIG: Andrea Wells, andrea.wells@@opcug.ca Note: We added an extra "@" to the emails to reduce spam. (c) OPCUG 2011. Reprints permission is granted* to non- profit organizations, provided credits is given to the author and The Ottawa PC News. OPCUG request a copy of the newsletter in which reprints appear. *Permission is granted only for articles written by OPCUG members, and not copyrighted by the author. ____________________________ Newsletter by email: To receive the newsletter by e-mail, send a message to listserve@@opcug.ca with the plain text "subscribe NewsletterTXT" or "subscribe NewsletterPDF" (without quotes) in the body of the message. No subject line is required. To cancel e-mailing, send a message to listserve@@opcug.ca with the plain text "unsubscribe NewsletterTXT" or "unsubscribe NewsletterPDF" (without quotes). To change your e-mail address, cancel using the old e-mail address and re-subscribe using your new e-mail address. Cancelling the Paper Newsletter: You can help the environment and save us some costs by sending an email to Mark.Cayer@@opcug.ca asking to cancel the delivery of the paper version of the newsletter (or ask him in person - Mark is usually at the back of the auditorium at General Meetings). Announcements Mailing List: To subscribe to the Announcements List send an email to listserve@@opcug.ca, leave the subject blank and in the body of the message put "subscribe announcements" (without the quotes). Within a couple of minutes you will receive a confirmation message from the list server. OPCUG clock/calendar/calculator and mug: Check out the clock/calendar/calculator and thermal coffee mug sporting our club logo at the back of the auditorium at General Meetings! OPCUG insulated mugs are $15 and OPCUG clocks are $20. Reuse, recycle: Bring your old computer books, software, hardware, and paraphernalia you want to GIVE AWAY to the general meetings, and leave them at the table near the auditorium's entrance. Please limit your magazines to publication dates of less than two years old. If you don't bring something, you may want to TAKE AWAY something of interest, so look in on this area. Please note: If you bring anything for the recycle table, you are responsible to check on your way out and if the items you brought are still there, you must take them home with you.