CPCUG Virginia Special Interest Group

Past Meeting Events


2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997

Events held in 2007

yellowdotDecember 17
Gabe's Gadgets Galore & Holiday Best Buys

Join us for our annual presentation on computer related "best buys" for the Holiday season and for a presentation by Gabe Goldberg titled "Gabe's Gadgets Galore". Technology changes so fast that this talk is never the same twice in a row. You'll see an assortment of interesting, useful, entertaining, and surprising gadgets, most priced quite low. The assortment will include multiple USB-pluggable devices, security and safety tools, a nostalgic and amazing electronic game, computer usability enhancements, and who-knows-what else.
yellowdotNovember 19
Whittle's Picks for the Digital Home – Only the Best, Not All the Rest.

Technology expert David B. Whittle, author of "Cyberspace: The Human Dimension" and named by Working Woman Magazine as "one of America's most original technological thinkers," will be speaking on his Picks for the Digital Home. Mr. Whittle will demonstrate or introduce products of general appeal to computer users, including hidden gems from companies around the world with outstanding, innovative technologies, including muvee™ and Invisus. We will be holding our regular question and answer period as well a door prize and special product offers. Non-members are invited to attend and take advantage of this special opportunity.
yellowdotOctober 15
Microsoft Windows and Office Tips and Tricks

At this month's presentation, we'll tour the Microsoft Windows operating system and the Office Suite and show you numerous tips to optimize your use of their many features. Got your own tips? Then come and share them with us!
yellowdotSeptember 17
Safe Surfing
Surfing on the Internet can be dangerous. Come join us while we cruise the Internet using freeware and shareware products that provide protection and reduce our vulnerability. We will look on how to practice safe surfing, avoid and eliminate infection, identify and block phishing sites, and block the download of malicious code.
yellowdotAugust 20
Windows Networking Interference and General Wireless Q&A
This month we will have a short presentation from a CPCUG Science Fair winner. Brian Ohlhausen of Bishop O'Connell High School will present his findings on Networking Interference. Certain household appliances use the same radio frequency as wireless routers and reduce the strength of the signal sent by the router to the laptop. Mr. Ohlhausen looked at the effects caused by common household appliances electromagnetic interference on Wireless-G networks. Using the information gathered by Mr. Ohlhausen, one can limit the effects of this interference on their wireless networks. The rest of the period will be dedicated to answering your questions on wireless WI-FI networking.

At this meeting Walt Houser will also recognize some deserving young computer scientists for their outstanding science fair projects. CPCUG Science Fair Awards

yellowdot July 16
Windows Networking and Wi-Fi Security II -- continued
Since there was so much left incomplete from last May's meeting, we will continue and finish off with more tips on how to set up your home and home-office network. We'll look closer at the requirements, installation and setup for networking Windows computers, and how to secure your wireless Wi-FI network.
yellowdotJune18
Networking Q & A

Last minute difficulties caused this meeting to be changed to a question and answer period on networking issues. Meeting chaired by Mark Mabee.
yellowdotMay 21
Windows Networking and Wi-Fi Security
This presentation is geared for the home and home-office user. It covers the requirements, installation and setup for networking Windows computers, as well as, how to secure your wireless Wi-FI network. Get presentation here.
yellowdotApril 16
Genealogy Software and Internet Research
Carol Whitton, Program chair of the ROOTS Users Group of Arlington, VA (www.rootsusers.org) will provide the SIG with an overview on the process of researching one's 'roots'. Her presentation will include an overview of the sites considered the most important in genealogy. She will also provide a short tour of one of the more popular and versatile of the genealogy packages, TMG (The Master Genealogist).

-- This is our 10th anniversary! --
yellowdotMarch 19
Problem Resolution and Q & A Discussion
Bring your computer problems to this meeting and let us assist you with resolving them. Also we'll provide you a tour of value sources for help, most of them right on the internet.

yellowdotFebruary 19
Presidents' Day
NO MEETING
yellowdotJanuary 15
ML King's Day
Shopping for Real Estate via the Internet
Join us for our presentation on using the internet to shop for real estate. Using these sites will simplify this difficult task and might actually make your home shopping a pleasure. Get presentation here
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Events held in 2006

yellowdotDecember 18
Q & A meeting
The December meeting is set aside to answer general technology based questions that users may have. We will tour web sites fellow SIG users have found useful.

yellowdotNovember 20
Holiday Best Buys
Join us for our annual presentation on computer related "best buys" for the Holiday season. Get presentation here
yellowdotOctober 16
Internet Adventure Night 2006
Come join us for another night of adventure on the Internet. Just as we have done in prior years, we'll cruise through many old and new worthwhile Internet sites. Among other things, we'll check the job and careers services, play games (!), and even try to tickle your funny bone. If you know an interesting site, come and share it with the rest of the members of the SIG. Get presentation here

yellowdotSeptember 18
Searching the Web with MASHUPS
CPCUG member Nancy Blissett will give a presentation and demo on what may be a passing fad or a new, for real way to search the web: Mashups. From a practice in the hip-hop music culture where two or more songs are mixed for an unusual listening experience, search engine websites are cropping up to offer a more stylized ways to search the web. Tired of Googling? Try Mashups! Find out more with this entertaining presentation.

yellowdotAugust 21
NAS - Network-attached storage
Network-attached storage, introduced in 1983, is today becoming popular for Home and Small Business use. Small-footprint appliances that excel at low-power, low-noise, and low-cost are available from commercial vendors. The price of NAS appliances has plummeted in recent years, offering flexible network based storage to the home consumer market for little more than the cost of a regular USB or FireWire external hard disk. This presentation will focus on NAS devices that can be purchased for around $400 down to possibly as little as under $100.

yellowdotJuly 17
Used Car Shopping Via the Internet
So, you have decided to purchase a used car because you did not want to give up your first born in order to buy a new one! Where do you start your search? What are the risks of buying a used car, be it from a private individual or a dealer? In this presentation we will provide tips on the process of looking for a used car via the internet and how to avoid many possible pitfalls. Get presentation here

yellowdotJune 19
INTEL BUILD-YOUR-OWN COMPUTER Pseudo-Workshop I
So you now have purchased your PC component and parts. What do you do now? In this presentation we will cover the steps that you will need to go through in putting your PC components together.

yellowdotMay 15
INTEL BUILD-YOUR-OWN COMPUTER SEMINAR I
Why build your own computer?  Where can you buy parts?   Swing by and attend this presentation   where we will address these and other questions that you may have on what’s involved in choosing the various components and technologies.  You’ll be introduced to the opportunity to customize and build a state-of-the-art, high-performance, high-value PC.

yellowdotApril 17
***The BUILD-YOUR-OWN COMPUTER SEMINAR postponed until MAY***
Instead at this meeting we will discuss building your own computer. Fellow VA SIG member, Mark Mabee, will discuss his experience with building PCs and answer your questions on the process.

yellowdotMarch 20
Problem Resolution and Q & A Discussion
Bring your computer problems to this meeting and let fellow CPCUG experts assist you with resolving them. Also we'll provide you a tour of other value sources for help, most of them right on the internet.

yellowdotFebruary 20
Presidents' Day
NO MEETING

yellowdotJanuary 16
ML King's Day
NO MEETING

yellowdotFebruary 19
Presidents' Day
NO MEETING

yellowdotJanuary 15
ML King's Day
Shopping for Real Estate via the Internet
Join us for our presentation on using the internet to shop for real estate. Using these sites will simplify this difficult task and might actually make your home shopping a pleasure. Get presentation here

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Events held in 2005

yellowdotDecember 19
Setting up a network server to share files and resources

At this meeting we will go through the steps of setting up an old PC as a network server. Why would you want to do that? Well, for one you could centralize and share all sorts of files, such as document, graphic, music, and video. For another, you could share resources, such as, printers, CD drives, media readers, etc. Lastly, in an emergency you would have access to a spare PC.
yellowdotNovember 21
Holiday Best Buys

Join us for our annual presentation on computer related "best buys" for the Holiday season. 2005 Best Buys Presentation
yellowdotOctober 17
Internet Adventure Night 2005

Come join us for another night of adventure on the Internet. Just as we did over 3 years ago, we'll cruise through many old and new worthwhile Internet sites. Among other things, we'll check the real speed of our internet connection, inspect email services, play games (!), and even try to tickle your funny bone. If you know an interesting site, come and share it with the rest of the members of the SIG. Get presentation here
yellowdotSeptember 19
Keeping Your PC Clean

Have you been keeping up with your housekeeking chores? More specifically, your PC housekeeping chores? Besides dusting, we will discuss file clutter, desktop cleanup and some virus/spyware prevention and removal techniques. So come on by and join us, and learn a few tips on how to keep your PC running like it just came right out of the box!
yellowdotAugust 15
Smart shopping at Ebay

So, you know how to shop on Ebay! Or do you? Join us as fellow CPCUG member Nancy Blissett shows you the basics and some tips to make your shopping experience pleasant and successful!
yellowdotJuly 18
(1) pdf w/GSView & (2) BartPE Bootable Windows CD

Fellow Virginia SIG member Mark Mabee will present two products, GSView and BartPE. Continuing on the CPCUG general meeting's theme of creating pdf files, Mark will first demo the use of the GSView freeware product to create pdf files. The second product is Bart Preinstalled Environment (BartPE). BartPE is used to create a bootable Windows CD-ROM or DVD suitable for PC maintenance tasks. It provides a complete Win32 environment with network support, a graphical user interface and FAT/NTFS/CD file system support. Very handy for testing systems with no OS, rescuing files, scanning for viruses, and so on. A likely replacement for your DOS boot diskette. Mark will also cover "slipstreaming" service packs with Windows.
yellowdotJune 20
WINDOWS XP TIPS II

There were so many great tips left over from last month's presentation on Windows XP, we just had to continue this month. Come and learn how to take advantage of the many features available in XP. If you've got your own tips, then come and share them with us.
yellowdotMay 16
WINDOWS XP TIPS

Think you're fully utilizing Windows XP? Come and find out. At this month's presentation we'll tour XP and show you numerous tips to optimize your use of its many features. Got your own tips? Then come and share them with us!
yellowdotApril 18
MICROSOFT EXCEL III

Join us for part 3 of a presentation on Microsoft Excel by fellow SIG member Mark Mabee. In his previous two presentations in April and August of 2004, Mark covered the basics of Excel formulas and functions. At this meeting, he will expand on the use of Array Functions, Special Functions, Names & Labels, and how to locate errors.
yellowdotMarch 21
Converting video formats -- tape to DVD

What have you done with all those old family videos? Waiting for the tapes to deteriorate to the point where your memories are lost? You should be looking at transferring those precious images to the latest media. Come to our presentation and let Dennis Courtney show you how you can store your videos on DVD. Dennis will explain and show the process of capturing images from VHS tape or digital camera to your computer hard drive. From there it's a simple process to record onto DVD recordable media. He will discuss the hardware and software requirements, as well as explain the recording options.
Dennis is past-president of CPCUG. He currently holds the positions of treasurer and membership director of CPCUG.
yellowdotFebruary 21
Presidents' Day
NO MEETING
yellowdotJanuary 17
ML King's Day
MEETING CANCELLED


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Events held in 2004

yellowdotDecember 20
Flash Delight!

CPCUG member Nancy Blissett, a novice Macromedia Flash MX 2004 enthusiast, will tell us what Flash is, where it came from, where it's going, and show some of the top sites created with Flash. Closer to home, Nancy will show us "inside" her slide show Flash presentation and how she created it. If time permits, she will show us some of her other Flash creations and that of other students. Nancy is an active member of the International Web Masters Association. She is an avid equestrian and Flash ad promoter for the stallion Norfleets Imprint, otherwise known as "Spud."
yellowdotNovember 15
Holiday Best Buys

Join us for our annual presentation on computer related "best buys" for the Holiday season.
yellowdotOctober 18
HTML AND WEB PAGE DEVELOPMENT -Part 2

Last month fellow SIG member Neal Grotenstein demonstrated how to get started with Web page development by providing us with a tutorial on the basics of HTML. So now, how do we continue to grow in our knowledge of HTML and web development? At this month's presentation, Neal will highlight some resources he has found useful that should help us to proceed on our own.
yellowdotSeptember 20
Basics of HTML - Part 1

Join us for a presentation on Web page development by fellow SIG member Neal Grotenstein. In his presentation Neal will provide a tutorial on the basics of HTML. Starting with a minimal web page, he will show how to use HTML features, such as fonts and links, to further enhance and format your web page.
yellowdotAugust 16
Microsoft Excel Formulas - Part 2

Join us for a continuation of the presentation on Microsoft Excel Formulae by fellow SIG member Mark Mabee. Download Presentation Notes.
yellowdotJuly 19
Shareware

Come join us while we cruise the Internet looking for worthwhile software and sites. Sites abound with useful software on such things as games, music, security, and must have utilities. If you know an interesting site or software, come and share it with the rest of the members of the Virginia SIG
yellowdotJune 21
Managing your PC security

Join us for a presentation on managing security of your PC by Robert Simanski. Robert will provide a multifaceted approach to managing your PC and protecting your data.
yellowdotMay 17
Microsoft Excel Formulas

Join us for a presentation on Microsoft Excel Formulae by fellow SIG member Mark Mabee. Mark will provide a tutorial on writing formulae for Excel, plus a tour of the Excel help facility.
yellowdotApril 19
Microsoft Excel Macros

Join us for a presentation on Microsoft Excel Macros by fellow SIG member Fred Holmes. Fred will provide a tutorial on writing macros for Excel (or other Microsoft Office Suite applications), demonstrating some of the power of VBA (Visual Basic for Applications).
yellowdotMarch 15
Intel Centrino Processor

Join us for a presentation on the Intel Centrino processor. This new technology is designed specifically for mobile computing with built-in wireless LAN capability and mobile performance. It also enables extended battery life.
yellowdotFebruary 16
Presidents' Day
NO MEETING
yellowdotJanuary 19
ML King's Day
MEETING CANCELLED


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Events held in 2003

yellowdotDecember 15
Holiday Event -- PC Best Buy Shopping Presentation 

Join us for our annual holiday presentation of the "best buys" on PCs and related electronics, components, and software in the Washington Metro area and on the Web. We will also discuss current market trends, and "how to" shop via the Web and at the local computer shows.
yellowdotNovember 17
PC Hardware Troubleshooting

Come learn from us a few tips you can use to troubleshoot and repair your own PC. We will also look at common repair issues, problem areas, and how to resolve them. Bring in your own problems for us to tackle.
yellowdotOctober 20
Microsoft Office Tricks and Tips - 4th edition

There was so much left from out last meeting we will continue and finish off with a fourth presentation showing you numerous tips to optimize your use of the office suite products: Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access.
yellowdotSeptember 15
Microsoft Office Tricks and Tips - 3rd edition

This was the third presentation showing numerous tips to optimize use of the office suite products: Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access.
yellowdot March 17 through August 18
Meetings cancelled due to lack of meeting space

yellowdotFebruary 17 
(Presidents' Holiday)
No meeting held
yellowdotJanuary 20 
(M.L. King Jr. Holiday)
No meeting held
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Events held in 2002

yellowdotDecember 16
Holiday Event -- PC Best Buy Shopping Presentation 

Join us for our annual holiday presentation of the "best buys" on PCs and related electronics, components, and software in the Washington Metro area and on the Web. We will also discuss current market trends, and "how to" shop via the Web and at the local computer shows. Sites visited, Pricewatch, Froogle, BargainPDA.
yellowdotNovember 18
CD/DVD formats and standards & recording data/music/video on CD and DVDs
Oliver Slattery of the Convergent Information Systems Division (CISD) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), as well as a member of the DVD Association will give a presentation on the different CD and DVD standards and formats available including: read-only (ROM), recordable (CD-R, DVD-R, DVD+R), and rewritable (CD-RW, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM). A second presentation will also be provided showing software applicatons which utilize the media for storing data, music, and video.

yellowdotOctober 21
A look at the "other" Operating Systems -- Linux and Apple
After that last system crash, did you think (even for a moment) of trashing your Windows PC? Well then, this presentation is for you! Come out and see a couple of alternatives, Linux and Apple. A representative from Northern Virginia's Linux Users Group (NOVALUG) will present Linux, and Pat Fauquet, President of the Washington Apple Pi User Group, will present the new Macintoshes using the OS X operating system. The presentation will cover the platforms' strengths/attractions, versions, availability, local support, and will include demos of the operating systems and some software products.

yellowdotSeptember 16
EUDORA Email Software
The Eudora email program has been around for many years, and the client and server versions run on a multitude of computer platforms. Join us as long time CPCUG member Fred Holmes show us some of the advanced features that folks frequently ask for in other mail clients.

yellowdotAugust 19
Internet Shareware/Tools
Come join us while we cruise the Internet looking for worthwhile software sites. Sites abound with useful software on such things as games, music, security, and must have utilities. If you know an interesting site or software, come and share it with the rest of the members of the SIG.

yellowdotJuly 15
Internet Adventure Night
Come join us for a night of adventure on the Internet. We'll cruise through many worthwhile Internet sites. We'll check the real speed of our internet connection, newly spawn viruses, services for forwarding eMail and controlling spam, as well as, track rebates, and even play games [ :-( ]. If times permits, we might even tickle your funny bone. If you know an interesting site, come and share it with the rest of the members of the SIG. Presentation

yellowdotJune 17
Overview Benefits of CPCUG Membership / CPCUG Offerings

Are you taking full advantage of your membership in CPCUG? Among the many topics we'll cover at this meeting are: the training options currently available and under development; getting technical assistance; Special Interest Groups (SIG); CPCUG organizational structure; web services; and future plans for the organization.
yellowdotMay 20
Computer Security

What should you consider to properly secure your PC? Using some of the knowledge you will gain from this presentation, common sense, and a little bit of caution, you can keep your home computer safe and almost impervious to attack. Among the topics we'll cover are physical security, software settings, passwords, antivirus software, firewalls, and E-mail concerns.
yellowdotApril 15
Maximizing your use of Microsoft Outlook

While many of our fellow citizens are out completing and mailing their income tax return, we'll be working on lighter matters. The CPCUG Virginia SIG will be giving a presentation on optimizing your use of Microsoft Outlook.
yellowdotMarch 18
PC Hardware and Peripheral Upgrades & Clinic

Okay. So you purchased a great new video card to upgrade that clunker in your current PC! Now, what do you do? How do you go about installing it? Come and learn a few tips on the approach that you should use when upgrading PC hardware and peripherals, and how to troubleshoot problems. Bring in your problems for us to tackle and let your fellow PC "medics" of the Virginia SIG help resolve your problems.
yellowdotFebruary 18 
(Presidents' Holiday)
NO MEETING
yellowdotJanuary 21 
(M.L. King Jr. Holiday)
Microsoft Office Tricks and Tips -- Continued

Continuation of last November's presentation.

Think you're fully utilizing the products that make up the Microsoft Office Suite?  Come and find out.  At our presentation we'll show you numerous tips to optimize your use of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
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Events held in 2001

yellowdotDecember 17
Holiday Event -- PC Best Buy Shopping Presentation 

Join us for our annual presentation of the "best buys" in PC, components and software in the Washington Metro area for the days prior to Christmas. 
yellowdotNovember 19
Microsoft Office Tricks and Tips

Think you're fully utilizing the products that make up the Microsoft Office Suite?  Come and find out.  At our presentation we'll show you numerous tips to optimize your use of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
yellowdotOctober 15
From Finance to Refinance

Been watching the interest rates go through the floor lately? Interested in buying a home and considering the finance options? Should you refinance? But, where do you start? What options are worthwhile? At this month's presentation we will look at internet sites that will help you in your search and tools that will help you make better, informed decisions.
yellowdotSeptember 17
Desktop and Laptop Hardware Selection

Lately, have you been eyeing the incredibly low hardware prices and are about ready to buy your next computer? But, what do you buy? The prices are temptingly low, but you still want the best value for your money. Should you buy a AMD Athlon processor or an Intel Pentium-4? What options are really worthwhile? At this month's presentation we will discuss price/performance issues, as well as the important, and not so important, options offered on today's computers. 
yellowdotAugust 20
Desktop Doomsday Recovery

You've sent hours, perhaps days, getting your Windows system and applications installed.You finally have everything working the way you want it! Should you relax and wait for problems to creep up, or should you plan for the worst?  At this month’s presentation we will discuss basic back up issues, as well as how to store and restore an image of your working system.
yellowdotJuly 16
Stuff you gotta (well, oughtta) have!

From browser add-ins, to audio software, to compression utilities, join us for our presentation about the software, utilities and tools that you should be using on you Windows PC.  List of web sites.
yellowdotJune 18
Setting up your own personal web domain (www.myname.com)

You've made up your mind. You want to set up your own personal domain on the web. You've decided on a name, but are unsure of the steps to get one up and going. Where do you start? Is it something you can tackle, or should you leave it to the pros?  Come join us and hear fellow CPCUG member Nancy Blissett present her step-by-step experience in getting a web presence up on the internet.  Suggested reference: Web by Design, The Complete Guide. Molly E. Holzschlag. ISBN# 0-7821-2201-9
yellowdotMay 21
Quicken 2001 Personal Financial Management Software

Come and attend our presentation on Quicken and how to use it to manage your finance. From Checkbook to investment to 401(k) tracking,  Quicken is the software of choice for many. Come and see why. 
yellowdotApril 16
Software and Hardware Clinic

While many of our fellow citizens are out completing and mailing their income tax return, the CPCUG VIrginia SIG we will be holding a clinic to answer your hardware and software issues. Bring us you problems and let the PC "medics" of the Virginia SIG help resolve your problems. 
yellowdotMarch 19
Preparing and Filing Your Income Taxes

Come and attend our presentation on preparing and filing your state and federal income taxes. The presentation will focus on different software tools you can use to prepare your income taxes. We'll also discuss the different methods available for filing, i.e., mail, touchtone telephone, and electronic filing. 
yellowdotFebruary 19 
(Presidents' Holiday)
NO MEETING
yellowdotJanuary 15 
(M.L. King Jr. Holiday)
PC Hardware Troubleshooting 

Come learn from us a few tips you can use to troubleshoot and repair your own PC.  We will also look at common repair issues, problem areas, and how to resolve them.  Bring in your own problems for us to tackle. 
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Events held in 2000

yellowdotDecember 18
Holiday Event --  PC Shopping Presentation
Join us for our annual presentation on the "best buys" in PC components and software for Christmas holidays.
yellowdotNovember 20
Windows Maintenance
Come learn a few maintenance tips you can use to keep the Microsoft family of Windows operation systems performing at their "Tip Top" level.  We'll also look at performance issues, problem areas, and how to resolve them.
yellowdotOctober 16
Windows 2000 Tour
Come take our tour of the Microsoft Windows 2000 Operating System.
Fellow SIG member Mark Mabee will give us a tour and highlight some of the features of Windows 2000.
yellowdotSeptember 18
Internet Tour of Online Banking and Financial Services Sites
Come take our tour of banking and financial services available right from your desktop via the internet. We'll check on our credit card accounts, pay our bills and check our account balance (hopefully there are no overdrafts!)
yellowdotAugust 21
Internet Tour of Health Related Sites
Is that breathing difficulty you are having caused by anxiety, asthma or TB?  Does your child have the symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder Syndrome (ADDS)?  Is your child's development within the normal range?  Come and take our tour of useful websites that can answer this and other questions you have about your health. Links of health sites presented
yellowdotJuly 17
Meeting Cancelled
No Meeting in July. Meeting topic has been moved to August.
yellowdotJune 19

Internet Tour of Home Repairs Sites
How do I maintain that air conditioning unit?  If you need a new AC, how many BTUs will the unit require for my size home?  What will it cost?  What is a BTU?  What is the best house paint?  Come and take our tour of useful websites that can answer these and many other questions you have about home issues.
Below is a list of start reference sites presented at meeting:
iHomeline.com ,-- Home Improvement, Repair and Decorating Tips for Do It Yourselfers ,-- Remodeling - Building -Interior Design - Home Repairs - Gilroy - Hollister - Morgan Hill ,-- [ 100hot Home & Gardening ] ,-- How-To - 4Hardware ,-- 101 Home Improvement Links ,-- HVAC in the U.P. Links ,-- MichaelHoligan.com: Home ,-- Paul and Ginger's Home Improvement Links ,-- Home improvement stores: We pick the best sites! , -- BEST SITES FOR HOME IMPROVEMENT and the BEST HOME RESOURCES

yellowdotMay 15
Investing via the Internet
Fellow CPCUG member and investor Doug Boulter will share his experience, as well as investment strategies and research tips with our SIG.  His presentation will cover 
  • Sites for understanding general economic conditions
  • Sites for researching specific stocks
  • Sites for getting real-time quotes
  • Sites for getting ideas for investment
yellowdotApril 17
Microsoft Access 2000
Most of us are aware of the major applications that make up the Microsoft Office Pro suite of applications, i.e.., Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. While the other applications included in this suite can be mastered with a little motivation and some training, the Access relational database application takes much more time and effort to master. Come to our presentation where we will explore the power and easy of using Access 2000. We will also explore the use of Access objects, i.e.., tables, queries, forms, and reports, and briefly look at the underlying programming language, Visual Basic for Applications (VBA).
yellowdotMarch 20
Microsoft PowerPoint
Don't want your PowerPoint presentation to look like everyone else's? Fellow CPCUG member and trainer, Susan Kousek, will show us how to customize and enhance your presentation -- change to a textured background; use photos and clip art; create your own template; animate text, graphics, column charts in your slide show; create hyperlinks to a document, a hidden slide, another slide show, a Web site.
yellowdotFebruary 21
(Presidents' Holiday)
NO MEETING
yellowdotJanuary 17
(M.L. King Jr. Holiday)
Washington Traffic
Are you using the Internet before venturing out into traffic? If not, let us show you why you should be. Our presentation will look at the many traffic information sites available today that can make you commute to and from work/home much less hectic.
Time permitting, we will look at other useful traffic commuting aid sites.
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Events held in 1999

yellowdotDecember 20
Holiday Event -- PC Shopping Presentation
Join us for our annual presentation on the "best buys" in PC components and software for the week of Christmas.
yellowdotNovember 15
Automated Software Testing
The book "Automated Software Testing" has been developed by three software industry professionals. The authors (Dustin, Paul and Rashka) have applied their software engineering and management background to develop a book, which addresses the pragmatic concerns and information needed by the software test engineer, faced with the need to perform testing more thoroughly and quickly. Elfriede Dustin, who can be reached at www.autotestco.com, will give a high level overview of their book.
yellowdotOctober 18
The Internet
What is the INTERNET? Our presentaion will cover the structure, protocols and hardware of the internet. Join us as we learn, among other things, how data is routed and addresses resolved.
yellowdotSeptember 20
SmartDebugging for Faster Development - Postponed from earlier date due to weather
NuMega Lab/Compuware Corporation will present their line of Visual Basic tool products. Their VB tools are used for debugging, static source code analysis, automated error detection, performance profiling and analysis, and advanced error handling and recovery. The demonstrates uses a sample order entry application written in Visual Basic to show how various areas of software design, implementation, and debugging can be accelerated through new Visual Basic development and debugging tools.
yellowdotAugust 16
Plug-and-Play
Plug and Play (PnP) is a combination of hardware and software support that enables a computer system to recognize and adapt to hardware configuration changes with little or no intervention by the user. A user can add devices to, and remove devices from, a computer system without manual configuration and without intricate knowledge of computer hardware. Kevin McCrory, computer systems engineer, will give a presentation on:
  • what is PnP
  • how PnP works and allocates resources such as:
    . I/O addresses, IRQ's, DMA channels, & memory regions
  • PnP limitations
  • how to resolve problems
yellowdotJuly 19
Cruising the Internet
Join us as we cruise some of the best and most interesting sites available on the internet. We will get a chance to stop and savor the offering of a few of these sites. We'll even take an 'automatic' tour of sites where you can sit back, watch the sites go by, and stop when one appeals to you.
yellowdotJune 21
Safe Surfing - What you need to know about computer viruses and the Internet
At this meeting Scott Mohnkern, President of CPCUG and President of Millkern Communications, an Internet Service Provider, will give a presentation about the reality of computer viruses, how best to make sure your computer doesn't get infected, and how to make sure you don't infect others. Virus detection software, safe computing practices, and other important information will be discussed.
yellowdotMay 17
How to Sell Yourself (Job Application)
Shari Goodwin, Eastern Division Manager for The Jaeger Group, will talk about the process of approaching your next job application. The Jaeger Group specializes in rapid-response staffing of high tech professionals in temporary, and regular, full-time positions. Topics to include:
  • 1) You as the marketing "product"
  • 2) Importance of customized cover letter
  • 3) Resume development
    • -layout/format, use of white space
    • -sections of resume, use of active voice
    • -what experience is appropriate/relevant to include
  • 4) Interviewing - Do's and Don'ts
  • 5) Other uses of resume (job fairs, annual reviews)
  • 6) Thank you's
yellowdotApril 19
Genealogy - Research and Software
Theresa Green Reed, President of the ROOTS Users Group of Arlington, VA (RUG) will provide the SIG with an overview on the process of researching one's 'roots'. We will also include a short tour of one of the more popular and versatile of the genealogy packages, Ultimate Family Tree by Palladium Interactive.
yellowdotMarch 15
SmartDebugging for Faster Development
NuMega Lab/Compuware Corporation presentation/meeting postponed to September date because of the closing of Fairfax County Schools due to bad weather.
yellowdotFebruary 15
*** NO MEETING ***
Meeting Canceled due to President's Day Holiday closure of Washington Gas Facility.
yellowdotJanuary 18
Windows 95/98 Tips III & PC Hardware * NOTE CHANGE *
Think you understand Windows 95/98 and are utilizing it efficiently? If not, come and join us as we present Windows 95/98 Tips and Tricks. Also, CPCUG member Ann Dorsey will continue her presentation on PC hardware.
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Events held in 1998

yellowdotDecember 21
Holiday Event -- PC Hardware Presentation
By membership request, VA SIG member Ann Dorsey will give a presentation on PC hardware, i.e., installing a hard disk drive, installing expansion cards, etc. Also, don't miss out on the presentation on the Best Buys in PC components for the week of Christmas.
yellowdotNovember 16
Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0
Visual Basic developer Thomas Ondra will present Micorsoft Corporation Visual Basic 6.0. VB, as is it known to most developers, allows one to learn Windows-based programming quickly and easily with its complete and easy to use development environment. VB developers can create powerful applications right away using features such as drag-and-drop programming, wizards, IntelliSense and ActiveX controls.
yellowdotOctober 19
Buying Right at local weekend Computer Shows
Fellow SIG members will give a one-hour presentation of benefits and pitfalls of buying at the area computers shows. A panel of experts will also be available after the presentation for a question and answer period. Come early for a chance at the early bird door prizes.
yellowdotSeptember 23
***Wednesday***


Introduction to Building a Web Page
Steve Heckler, Vice President of Training at WestLake Solutions, presented a one-hour seminar on the basics of Web development. In addition to teaching the basics of Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), the language in which pages are written, he demonstrated and compared the latest HTML tools, including Microsoft FrontPage, Allaire HomeSite, and Cold Fusion. Among the door prizes were a 200 MHz IDT Winchip Pentium-compatible microprocessor and 2 network interface cards!
yellowdotAugust 17
Internet Explorer Tips and Tricks
Are you fully utilizing Microsoft's Internet Explorer? Come to this presentation and learn how to make you surfing easier. One year ago, we had a Tips and Tricks presentation for both Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer. Most of the time was spent on Navigator. This meeting, we will work exclusively on IE. Want tips? Check out TipZone
yellowdotJuly 20
Compact Disk (CD) Technology Overview
presented by Leo F. Pozo , member of board of SIGCAT Foundation (Special Interest Group on CD Applications and Technology). Topics covered the different formats available including: CD-ROM, recordable CD (CD-R), rewritable CD (CD-RW) and the latest DVD technology. Among the door prizes was a 200 MHz IDT Winchip!
yellowdotJune 15
Networking Your Windows 95 PCs (continued)
Mark Mabee, Windows NT and network specialist, gave an excellent presentation/demo.
yellowdotMay 18
*** SIG Elections ***
Networking Your Windows 95 PCs
Geared for the home and small office user, this presentation covered the PC hardware requirements and software installation and setup for peer-to-peer networking. Check out these sites:
1) Windows95 Peer-to-Peer Networking, 2) Build a Windows 95 Network, 3) Setting up a Peer to Peer Network, 4) Do it yourself: Building your network. 5) ComputerLife: Network Your Home
yellowdotApril 20
Meeting Canceled due to room unavailability.
yellowdotMarch 16
PartitionMagic by PowerQuest Inc.
Fellow SIG member, Mark Mabee, presented PowerQuest's PartitionMagic 3.0 which easily and visually creates, formats, shrinks, expands, copies and moves hard disk partitions in minutes without destroying data.
yellowdotFebruary 16
Membership Benefits and Services Provided by CPCUG*** Presidents Day Meeting ***
During the open forum Scott Mohnkern of Millkern Communications talked about the CPCUG.ORG upgrade.
yellowdotJanuary 19
Microsoft Presentation
Debra Pfundstein, of Microsoft presented Home Essential98 and Encarta98.
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Events Held in 1997

yellowdotDecember 15
PC related Chrismas Shopping Buys
presentation on PC hardware and software best buys in the DC area.
yellowdotNovember 17
Thomas Guide CD-ROM
Bob Bailey of Thomas Bros. Maps, Inc., presented their computerized street mapping packages.
yellowdotOctober 20
Microcomputer Hardware Overview
yellowdotSeptember 15
Continuous Speech Dictation software
Carl Schmitt of Satcom, Inc. presented NaturallySpeaking
yellowdotAugust 18
Internet Browsers Tips and Tricks
yellowdotJuly 21
WordPerfect 6+ Tips and Tricks
Lillian Milliner, CPCUG President and past Chairperson of WordPerfect SIG, gave presentation on using WordPerfect efficiently.
yellowdotJune 16
Windows 95 Tips II
yellowdotMay 19
Windows 95 Tips
yellowdotApril 21
Adobe PhotoShop, Acrobat, PageMill, and PhotoDeluxe
Jon Dellaria of Adobe, Inc. presented Adobe's Web site development tools.
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Link to CPCUG's Calendar page
Link to parent organization: CPCUG home page