Skip to Content

General

SPAUG Meeting

Thu, 02/25/2010 - 00:06 — webmaster
03/10/2010 7:15 pm

Public Access Television and Community Media Centers
Elliot Margolies, Midpeninsula Media Center

NOTE: This meeting will be held at the Midpeninsula Community Media Center, 900 San Antonio Road, Palo Alto. A tour of the Center operations and studio is included.

media center logoFounded in 1990, the Midpeninsula Community Media Center helps local individuals and groups use the power of video, television and the internet to inform, persuade and build community. They provide video production and editing services, offer classes and seminars, broadcast local government meetings and operate five cable television channels serving the communities of Atherton, East Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Palo Alto and Stanford. 

SPAUG Meeting

Sun, 01/03/2010 - 00:26 — webmaster
01/13/2010 7:15 pm

A Pragmatic Look at Personal Digital Archiving
Cathy Marshall, Senior Researcher, Microsoft

What should I keep? Where should I keep it? How will I maintain it? How will I find it?

These questions present challenges:

General Meeting

Mon, 11/02/2009 - 02:04 — webmaster
11/11/2009 7:00 pm

Two Ways To Upgrade from Vista to Windows 7
Kevin Lynn

picture of Kevin LynnTwo Vista-to-Win7 upgrade paths are:

  • Upgrading from Vista to Windows 7, or
  • Doing a dual-boot clean install with an upgrade version of Windows 7.

Kevin prefers the second method, but he describe both in detail at the SPAUG General meeting. Kevin has been working with Windows 7 for months and will share what he has found so far, including how to avoid problems when upgrading to Windows 7 from Windows XP or Windows Vista.

Ubuntu, Windows and Virtual Computers

Wed, 08/19/2009 - 16:25 — youngbill

At the July 2009 General Meeting Hank Skawinski promoted Ubuntu as a better operating system (OS) than Windows. Hank showed us his new netbook computer that dual-boots Windows XP and Ubuntu. He booted into Ubuntu and showed us many of its features. Hank noted that Ubuntu cannot run some critical Windows programs, such as TurboTax, Quicken, QuickBooks, and Photoshop. This keeps many users from considering Ubuntu.

Using a virtual computer, I am running Windows XP and Windows programs, including the above programs, in Ubuntu. As a timely follow up to Hank's talk, Hank and Jim Dinkey asked me to describe to the club members how I do this. 

Automatic Backups with Acronis True Image Home 2009

Tue, 06/30/2009 - 02:00 — webmaster

By Gene Barlow
User Group Relations
Copyrighted June 2009

(Ed. Note - In preparation for Gene Barlow's webinar at the August 12th General meeting, this article is reproduced with his permission.)

Backing up your computer’s hard drive on a regular basis is the most important thing every user should be doing on their computer. The hard drive on your computer will eventually crash and when it does, you will be protected if you have a good backup. Without a backup, your computer will no longer function and all of your important files and pictures will be lost. Start doing backups today and be safe!

How to Build Your Own Computer

Fri, 03/13/2009 - 13:41 — youngbill
 
In February 2009 SPAUG member Bill Young described how he designed and built a "general purpose" desktop computer, including:
  • Choosing whether to buy or build your new computer
  • The ease of building your own computer
  • Deciding on the objectives for your computer
  • Selection of hardware components to meet your objectives
  • Choosing your operating system

The advantages of building your own system include custom components wth better reliability and longer life, lower power consumption and cooler, quieter operation compared to purchased computers.

Open Source Software - Is There Really a Free Lunch?

Thu, 08/21/2008 - 23:14 — webmaster

From Linux, Open Office, Firefox and GIMP to a growing list of other applications Open Source has become a popular alternative to costly commercial software. Open source software is developed by a community of programmers with peer review and transparency of process. The promise of open source is better quality, higher reliability, more flexibility, lower cost, and an end to predatory vendor lock-in. (Presented by Maurice Green at the August 2008 General meeting. Additional material and links have been added.)

Silicon Valley User Group Alliance

Sun, 04/20/2008 - 16:40 — webmaster

The Silicon Valley User Group Alliance is the joint website of the Stanford Palo Alto User Group (SPAUG) and the Silicon Valley Computer Society (SVCS). Each of these groups is a non-profit educational organization which exists to promote the use and understanding of personal computers, digital photography and website design through meetings, classes, demonstrations and publications and to provide a forum for fellowship, recreation and an exchange of ideas among its members.

Syndicate content


Theme by Dr. Radut.