April 2006 Issue

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Apology

I am sorry that I have missed the last two meetings. Luckily, I am still very active and the brain is not too bad for my age but with so much going on I am afraid I cannot think of too many things at the same time and so completely forgot the meetings. My memory has never been that good and I need a little time to get it working. I badly miss my dear wife who was always there to remind me of my appointments.

I have been told that I should get a reminder program but in fact I have one but I forgot to look at it. Yes I know that there are programs that pop up with reminders but I have to remember to switch the computer on to look at them. Bryan kindly reminds me of when a newsletter is due otherwise I would possibly forget to do one. Bryan sends out the newsletter after I have written them. Any other help is welcome especially something for the newsletter.

Just Chat

At my golf club I am frequently asked how to do things. I suggest that they should join the club and several did for one year but all left after that time. Most expected to be taught how to use their computer but this is not the function of the club. We did attempt a little tuition at Wyvern but found it very difficult because of the difference in time that the pupils took to learn and you cannot teach much in one evening a month. I explain that, as members of the club, even if they only ask for help on the odd occasion the membership fee is well worth it.

Another comment I receive that having purchased an expensive computer they have no use for it except for the occasional letter. I try to explain the numerous things that they could use their computer for and they counteract that by asking me what I use my computer for.

Apart from the computer itself and a printer I find that the most useful item is a scanner. My scanner is in constant use. I use it as a photo copier and to scan text into my word processor both for altering and for keeping a record for future use. I have always been interested in taking photographs and had hundreds of slides many of which had faded over the years. All slides have been scanned into my computer and brought back to life using a graphics program which in my case is Paint Shop Pro. The best of these are then reproduced as prints. All can be viewed on my television via my DVD player. Since my wife died I have discovered a large quantity of 35mm negatives and photographs. These are now being scanned and added to my collection to be viewed as explained.

My other main interest has always been collecting gramophone records. Over the years I have also recorded hundreds of cassettes. Both of these formats have now been transferred to CD and in some cases I have as many as twelve records on one CD in MP3 format. I use two programs for this. First I record the material to my computer using Music Match Jukebox and then I clean up the recordings using a program called Cool Edit Pro. This program allows me to sort out the tracks and to ensure that the final recording is produced with all tracks at the same level. I can use the program for numerous other things such as getting rid of noise etc. and to fade a track in or out. Finally, back to Music Match to record the finished item to CD. I scan the cover of records to produce CD inserts and MS Publisher to produce CD labels and the details of the recordings for the back of the CD case.

I use an excellent program called ACT to keep a record of all addresses and from these I can very quickly write a letter from a previously formed template. I can also print an envelope without the need to write the address. The program has numerous other functions one of which is, you've guessed it, a Reminder Program.

I use MS Access to keep a record of my hundreds of CD's and MS Excel for numerous things, one of which helps me to manager my housekeeping bills, previously managed very efficiently by my wife on scraps of paper.

Omni Page pro is used to scan text into MS Word. Sidekick is used to keep lists such as Birthdays and numerous notes filed under categories. Many utilities are in constant use such as Zip Magic, Acrobat Reader and WinRAR. Other programs are used occasionally not forgetting the Internet.