Independence Day
July eMonitor

New MacIntosh Study Group Meets 1st Monday 6:30 p.m.

Come to Our General Meeting on Thursday July 16th at the Resource Center of the CCOKC

July General Session
"You, Too, CAN BE A STAR!"
July 16th at 7:00 PM, by Doris Collins

Have you ever wanted to be the star of your own show? With the popularity of "YouTube" these days, anyone can do it!

One of our own, Jim Foreman, has made and uploaded YouTube videos and will show us all the secrets of how to do it at the July General Meeting. I sure wish he could serve us some the “Cowboy Biscuits” he demonstrates in one of his videos. I’ve made them and they are great!

Jim was born in the Texas Panhandle in a town that no longer exists and grew up on a small ranch. During his career he has owned a few small companies: crop spraying, drive-in movie theater and pet cemetery. After two years in the army he was a deputy sheriff for a few months before opening a motorcycle dealership. Then he went to work for Sears where he stayed for the next twenty years. 

He retired at 50 years of age to do what he wanted to, which began with building a house in Black Forest, Colorado, where he could write, take photos and fly. He formed a small company that made airplane parts. He also wrote about 150 magazine articles and half a dozen books while in Colorado.

After ten years enjoying the harsh winters at 8,000 feet in Colorado, he sold the house and lived on the road in a motor home for the next two years before settling in Moore, Oklahoma. He says of himself, "Most people would say I can't hold a real job and have been unemployed for the last 30 years."

Jim's son gave him a digital video camera for Christmas so he had to figure out something to do with it. He bought a book on Windows XP and after several false starts he was able to post his first video on YouTube about five months ago. After half a dozen more, they seem to be getting easier, he says. 

Jim's presentation should prove to be entertaining and enlightening. I know I am eagerly looking forward to it. 

The Computer Club of Oklahoma City has two door prizes to give to its members, and two for visitors. This month the prize for the first visitor will be a one-year membership to the Computer Club of Oklahoma City; the second visitor’s prize will be a 4GB Flash Drive. For the members’ drawings, we have an MX Resolution rechargeable cordless laser mouse, which bills itself as the “World’s Most Advanced Mouse.” (It does have a lot of neat features!). We also have a 250GB “My Passport Essential” Portable External Hard Drive. 

Please join us for an informative lesson and stay for the drawing for these prizes. Remember that if you bring guests, you may complete an extra prize drawing slip for each guest you bring who has not attended the General Meeting in the last three months. However, if you win a prize, you are only allowed to win one prize an evening and if your name is drawn again, it will be put aside and another name drawn.

THE FOLLOWING IS VERY IMPORTANT:  In fairness to all, no one will be allowed to register for the drawing after 7:05 pm. You MUST have a current Computer Club of Oklahoma City badge with you to enter the members' prize drawing. If you forget your badge, you have lost it, or it has expired, you will not be eligible to fill out a prize drawing slip. If you need a new badge, or need to renew your membership to the Club, please see or email our Membership Chairman, Jack Milner, at least 24 hours before the General Meeting. No new or replacement badges will be printed the night of the meeting. Jack's email address is JMilner000@aol.com , and the phone number for the Club's Resource Center is 405-843-4300 (leave a message if there is no answer). This is a firm rule for all meetings, so please be sure you bring your badge with you each month. You are welcome to stay for the presentation without your badge, but you will not be allowed to participate in the drawing, no matter how long you've been a member of the Club. You are, of course, welcome to place your membership with the Club that evening, but you will not be eligible to participate in the drawing until the following month.

June 18, 2009 General Meeting Review

Did Your Television Make the Conversion?

Presented by Julian Barrie, Loss Control Manager at Best Buy 5801 N. May Ave., OKC

By Carol Bennett

Julian was kind enough to fill in for Jeff Lyles who was our scheduled speaker and was called away by other duties.

Julian spoke to us about the boxes that will convert the new digital signal to work on our old  analog televisions. He passed around a new antenna and an Apex converter box.  He suggested we could go to terk.com or hdtvok.com to find whether you will need a regular antenna that just plugs into the converter box or an amplified antenna that plugs into the converter box and an electrical outlet to enable you to receive the best reception.

 Of course, if you have Cox or a satellite receiver, you don't need a converter box. You will not receive HD channels unless you have an HD television and upgrade to HD service.

The group questioned Julian about the ability to maintain a constant volume level when changing channels or during commercials. He explained that the stations set their own volume level and the level for commercials, but some of the  converters do have a control will maintain a constant volume level (brands not given).

We were told that you can operate both a converter box and Cox/satellite at the same time. The new HD televisions have an HD receiver built in and can receive the HD transmission through a antenna while also receiving the signal from the Cox/satellite receiver.

Our next topic was TiVo, which is a monthly service that allows you to record television programs. It is made of a box that houses a hard drive. You buy your own TiVo box and then pay for the monthly service. There are several sizes for boxes, each increasing in price and storage capacity.

One of the neatest features was the “thumbs up” or the  'thumbs down”. “Thumbs up “ will record future programs of the same title, the same stars or the same time frame, depending on how your TiVo is programed. If you record a program you don't want, press the “thumbs down” button and it erases all of those programs and will not record it again. Also if there is a preview for a program or a movie playing on the television, you press the “thumbs up” button on the control and it will automatically record the program or movie when it plays without any further effort on your part.

DVR is service provided by both Cox and some of the satellite providers. There is an additional charge for this service. The difference between the DVR and TiVo is that you need no converter box to use the DVR service from Cox/satellite service.

The newest gadget was a camcorder with a GPS locator that can tag the location onto the video as to exactly where you are taking it.

The new Samsung television is an LED and is only 1.25 inches thick.

The door prizes drawing were held at the conclusion of the meeting. Visitor Josie Thompson received the free CCOKC membership. Visitor T.J. McNeely received the 8GB flash drive. Members Kay Morrow and Aaron Spencer received digital photo frames and Member Robert Fiddes received Microsoft Vista Ultimate that was given to the club by Jay Ferron President of the Association of Personal Computers Users Group (APCUG). 

Click Here to Join the Computer Club of OKC. See the Membership form on the Website

What is a Study Group

     The Computer Club of OKC offers many different Study Groups. They are groups of 10-50 people who meet monthly to learn about a particular subject. The format is part presentation and part facilitated discussion. These meetings are supported by our membership. There is no charge to attend these meetings.

     Come to a Study Group in our Resource Center at 3000 United Founders Blvd.!

We are located at the east end of the Center 3000 Building in Suite 201, so use Entrance One on the east side of the building.

      We are a nonprofit, all-volunteer organization of around 1200 members, with the goal of teaching each other more about using and enjoying their personal computers for business and pleasure. The sole purpose of the organization is reflected in its motto, “Computer Users Helping Computer Users.”

New Senior Combo Members (50 +) can now register for the Computer Fundamentals class at no charge.

Contact Charlene Francis 359-5675, if you have any questions regarding membership and/or registration for the class.