January 11, 2007 - Thursday
Blogging: Don't Just Do Something, Sit There!
Noted blogger Lori Ehrlich discussed the positive influence putting one's thoughts online and inviting others to respond and contribute, can have.
Ms. Ehrlich has been active in clean energy and health-related causes founding two major grassroots organizations, Wenham Lake Watershed Association and HealthLink. She is often quoted in such prestigious newspapers as The Wall Street Journal, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Boston Globe, The Boston Herald, The Patriot Leger, and The Salem News.
An experienced CPA from Marblehead, Ms. Ehrlich recently earned a Masters in Public Administration. Her blog, Truth & Progress has been quoted by Slate Magazine, Al Gore's blog, Huffington Post, The Boston Globe and The Salem News. Her children and husband all agree, "Mom's blog is cool".
If you would like to experience blogging first-hand, then go to www.truthandprogress.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=214 and read Ms. Ehrlich's posting about her visit with us, follow her step-by-step instructions on how to sign up and join the conversation. Blog away!
As usual, our meeting is always free of charge and open to the general public, but remember any door prizes offered are available to members only.
February 8, 2007 - Thursday
Apple: More Than Just A Computer Company
This month John Lemansky, Senior System Engineer at
Apple, offered a presentation featuring Apple products and why PC users should be paying more attention to Apple.
For a warm up, he showed us the ways everyone can run Windows programs on their Mac computers. If you have ignored Macs in the past because they were incompatible with your existing system and its applications, don't miss this presentation.
Then, fresh from the recent MacWorld in San Francisco, John was talking about the recent unveiling of the iPhone and Apple TV products as well as other new products released and in the future. But don't expect a sales pitch - John is a system engineer, not a sales or marketing person, so if you brought your technical questions, you got to hear the real answers.
Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple ][ and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning desktop and notebook computers, OS X operating system, and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital music revolution with its iPod portable music players and iTunes online store.
As usual, our meeting is always free of charge and open to the general public, but remember any door prizes offered are available to members only.
March 8, 2007 - Thursday
Inkjet Printer Preventive Maintenance
Felipe V. Martinez of Astro Imaging in Everett, who has ten years of experience in the laser toner and inkjet remanufacturing industry, offered tips on keeping our printers happy and healthy.
Mr. Martinez covered such areas as Printer Preventive Maintenance, Keeping The Print Head Clean, Little-known Secrets to Preventing Problems With Your Printer, Proper Printer Storage, Keeping Your Printer Healthy: How to Avoid and Fix Common Problems, Keeping Your Printer's "Nose", Nozzles Clean, Power Down Properly, Don't Fry Your Printer, Never Run Back-to-Back Cleaning Cycles, Have You Lost Your Printer's User Guide, Don't Let Your Printer Run Out of Ink!
Following the Q&A, Mr. Martinez donated 4 member-only Door Prizes - 1 new Lexmark Inkjet Printer and 3 inkjet cartridges!
As usual, our meeting is always free of charge and open to the general public, but remember any door prizes offered are available to members only.
April 12, 2007 - Thursday
"Why Software Sucks... and What You Can Do About It"
In April local author David Platt discussed his recent book "Why Software Sucks... and What You Can Do About It".
His book is getting rave reviews for its humorous (and sometimes painful) look at why the software we use everyday sucks and what we can do to improve it.
As usual, our meeting is always free of charge and open to the general public, but remember any door prizes offered are available to members only.
May 10, 2007 - Thursday
How Software Virtualization Can Tame Your Desktop
At our May meeting, Mike Eisenberg of
Altiris (now part of Symantec) offered
a presentation on Application Software Virtualization, a new way to use and manage software. By placing programs and data into packages called Layers, you can quickly activate them one at a time and then turn them off when you don't need them anymore. Computer users can finally say goodbye to "DLL Hell" and "Registry Rot".
Mr. Eisenberg provided a demonstration of the technology using the
Altiris Software Virtualization Solution, as well as explained what is
happening behind the scenes to make this new technology work. He also discussed the different types of software virtualization currently
available and compared them to Operating System Virtualization technologies
like those from VMware and Microsoft.
As usual, our meeting is always free of charge and open to the general public, but remember any door prizes offered are available to members only.
June 14, 2007 - Thursday
Wireless Networking for the Home
In June, local computer professional Joe Riess, of Burlington, MA-based Geek Housecalls, gave a presentation on wireless networking for the home.
Mr. Riess discussed how to perform a site survey, how to choose a wireless router, how to configure your wireless router for DSL or cable service, and explained the importance of, as well as how to set up, wireless security.
As usual, our meeting is always free of charge and open to the general public, but remember any door prizes offered are available to members only.
July 29, 2007 - Sunday
North Shore Spirit vs. Nashua Pride Baseball Game
It's time once again for our annual North Shore Spirit Baseball Outing!
Do you like baseball? The crack of the bat, the roar of the crowd, the cry
of the umpire, there is nothing like going to a ballpark and cheering on the
local team. And the North Shore Computer Society will be cheering on the
North Shore Spirit at the new Fraser Field in Lynn on Sunday, July 29th at
1:05PM when they take on the Nashua Pride.
This is baseball the way it used to be. Lots of fun, lots of action at a price that won't break the bank. The past few year's outings have been a great success and this year will be even better. But only if you join us.
Don't miss this fun event! I can personally vouch for the fun - I've been to quite a few games in the past couple of years and I can promise you, you will have a great time, too. And you won't break the bank with parking at less than $5 and plenty to eat and drink at similarly reasonable prices.
For more information on the North Shore Spirit including
directions to the field, you can check out their website at
www.northshorespirit.com. And if you have any questions or if you need to arrange an alternate method of payment, please send us an email at
baseball@northshore.org or call us at (888)955-NSCS.
See you at the ball game!
October 11, 2007 - Thursday, 7:00PM
Scanning the Bits & Pieces of Family Albums
North Shore Computer Society
member John Thompson of Braintree, MA will offer a presentation
entitled "Scanning the Bits and Pieces of Family Albums." Mr.
Thompson will discuss a project he is working on to scan and edit
family photographs in order to share them electronically. He will
discuss scanner hardware, digital picture formats, and photo editing
software. In addition, he will show some examples of pictures he has
reconstructed.
In addition to his long time affiliation with the North Shore Computer
Society, Mr. Thompson is a member of the Massachusetts Genealogical
Council and TIARA, "The Irish Ancestral Research Association," as well
as the South Shore Camera Club and the Boston Network Users Group.
Once again this month - we hope to have one of our members give a short,
ten minute or so tutorial on a topic of current interest. We have made
this feature a regular one, so let us know some topics you want us to
cover and we'll try to find a way to show you how to do it.
We'll also hold our usual Tech Talk Time - your chance to share your technical questions and answers - and we might even have some books, shirts and other great stuff to give away.
As usual, our meeting is always free of charge and open to the general public, but remember any door prizes offered are available to members only.
November 8, 2007 - Thursday, 7:00PM
Bluetooth and You
North Shore Computer Society member Joan MacDonald offers a presentation on Bluetooth, the rapidly evolving technology which allows any type of electronic equipment from computers to PDAs to cell phones to make its own connections without wires, cables or any direct action from the user.
Ms. MacDonald's background is in Mathematics and Statistics and she is currently serving as consultant to the Federal Government in investigative work.
Once again this month - we hope to have one of our members give a short, ten minute or so tutorial on a topic of current interest. We have made this feature a regular one, so let us know some topics you want us to cover and we'll try to find a way to show you how to do it.
We'll also hold our usual Tech Talk Time - your chance to share your technical questions and answers - and we might even have some books, shirts and other great stuff to give away.
As usual, our meeting is always free of charge and open to the general public, but remember any door prizes offered are available to members only.
December 13, 2007 - Thursday, 7:00PM
InkJet Cartridge Recycling
Meeting CANCELLED:
Due To Weather
Join us as Mr. Chuck Wallace will offer a short presentation on the recycling of ink cartridges. His company, Cartridge World of Danvers, collects empty cartridges and recycles them with top quality ink at a savings of up to 50% off a new one. Mr. Wallace has hinted that he may be making an announcement about a special offer for NSCS members.
We'll also hold an extended Tech Talk Time this month - your chance to share your technical questions and answers - and we will have some books and other great stuff to give away. But remember, even though our meetings are always
free, to be eligible to win a prize you must be a member of the North Shore Computer Society.
As usual, our meeting is always free of charge and open to the general public, but remember any door prizes offered are available to members only.
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