HAL-PC Monthly eBulletin - July 2006
    

Welcome to the August edition of the HAL-PC monthly member eBulletin. If you wish to stop receiving these bulletins, send an email to e-bulletin-off@hal-pc.org. This month: Protect Your PC, Events, Clear Lake, SIG News, Movie Night, Class Listing, Volunteer of the Month, Magazine.

PROTECT YOUR PC - TROUBLESHOOTING YOUR ADSL CONNECTION

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ADSL not connecting properly / no web pages / email problem?? Do the following BEFORE calling HAL-PC.

  1. Shut down the computer.
  2. Shut down (turn off) any routers/hubs/switches between the computer and ADSL Modem.
  3. Shut down the modem (unplug the power line if it does not have a power button).
  4. Wait about 15 seconds.
  5. Turn on the ADSL modem FIRST (or plug back in the line).
  6. Wait 60 seconds.
  7. Turn on any routers/hubs/switches between the PC and ADSL Modem SECOND
  8. Wait 60 seconds.
  9. Turn on the computer LAST.
If you still cannot bring up web pages, then call HAL-PC. Do yourself a favor and be prepared: Copy this list and tape it to your DSL router so that if trouble arises, you will be able to access the instructions!

AOL BLOCKING HALNet MESSAGES

There have been reports from HALNet users that email sent to AOL customers is being blocked or delayed. If you have friends or family with AOL accounts that are having problems receiving messages sent to them from your HALNet email account, please have them contact AOL customer support to complain.

UPCOMING SPECIAL EVENTS

Saturday, August 5-- 1:00 - 3:30 pm: Converting Cassettes & LPs to CD For Everyone

Friday, August 25 -- 6:30 pm: HAL-PC Movie Night - Casablanca

COMING AT CLEAR LAKE

Friday, August 4 -- 1:00 pm: Computer Investing SIG - Tips on Estate Planning Part II

Saturday, August 19 -- 9:30 am: Digital Photography SIG - 'Using Programmed Modes on Digital Cameras'

Saturday, August 26 -- 9:30 am General Meeting - 'Internet Shopping Using Smart Robots'

Saturday, September 9 -- 9:30 am Camcorder & Video SIG - Organizational Meeting

SIG NEWS

The following Special Interest Groups have specific programs posted for their upcoming meetings. Please refer to the SIG Calendar for a complete listing of HAL-PC SIG meeting dates and times. If you are interested in starting a Special Interest Group that is not currently on our calendar, contact the Vice President for SIGS

WINDOWS OS: Wednesday, August 2 -- 7:00 pm: Discussion on the upcoming IE 7.0., review of the D-Link SecureSpot thin client, audience Q&A.

MULTIMEDIA: Saturday, August 5 -- 10:00 am: Discussion of music theory, or how music works. Scales, chords, rhythm, chord progressions, harmony, melody, instrumentation - all these elements are combined to make a piece of music. Old software friends "Band in a Box" and "Jammer" can help experiment with musical elements.

FOXPRO: Tuesday, August 8 -- 7:00 pm: Presenter: Lew Keim - Ultra moble PC: A hands-on demo of the newest thing in computing. The UMPC or Ultra Moble PC is a computer small enough that you can carry it almost everywhere. See how Blue tooth and GSM extend the possibilities. See how the new computer may create a market for a world of developer's goodies.

ACCESS DEVELOPERS: Saturday, August 12 -- 9:00 am: Stored Procs, Stored Proceedures, Scripts. What are they? Why should you care? In the August Access Developer's SIG we will cover the basics of Stored Procedures and introduce you to Transact SQL (TSQL). We will discuss the tools required to create a Stored Proceedure; how to debug it; and how to deploy it. We we are done, you know that TSQL and stored procedures can be your friend. We would like to make this a hands on experience as much as possible, so bring your computer.

C#: Tuesday, August 15 -- 7:00 pm: Test Driven Development using Nunit

FRONTPAGE: Thursday, August 17 -- 7:00 pm: Exploring the new tool, its ability to create standards compliant websites out of the box and migrating FrontPage websites to current standards using Expression Web Designer.

HAL-PC MOVIE NIGHT

Popcorn bag

Join us for our free monthly movie night for a another family favorite, Casablanca, starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman on the big screen, and a door prize. "Classic film set in occupied Africa during the early days of World War II: An American expatriate meets a former lover, with unforeseen complications." Refreshments will be available. Join the fun!

Upcoming Classes - HAL-PC Headquarters

Map To Facility

NEW CLASSES! August brings the debut of three new offerings at the HAL-PC Headquarters Learning Center. Published writer Bear Jones is teaching two new specialized classes designed to help writers get the most from Microsoft Word. Getting More From MS Word - Creative Writing covers formatting and use issues raised by common writing forms such as short stories, novels and scripts. Getting More From MS Word - Business Writing addresses business letters and replies, faxes and more!

For the novice Internet user, we now offer Web Surfing for Cowards. If you have a friend or family member that is new to the web, steer them to this course to get their feet wet and gain the confidence they need to surf without anxiety.

Starting August 3
Getting More From Word - Creative Writing
Instructor: Bear Jones

Starting August 8
Quickbooks Level 2
Instructor: Marie Jones

Starting August 9
MS Word Level 1
Instructor: Bear Jones

Starting August 10
Getting More From Word - Business Writing
Instructor: Bear Jones

Starting August 11
Outlook
Instructor: Mel Babb

Starting August 14
Web Surfing For Cowards
Instructor: Bear Jones

Starting August 15
Working With Windows
Instructor: Bear Jones

Starting August 16
Basic Computer Use
Instructor: Rick Archibald

Starting August 17
Getting More From Word - Creative Writing
Instructor: Bear Jones

Starting August 23
Intro to Microsoft Office
Instructor: Bear Jones

Starting August 24
Getting More From Word - Business Writing
Instructor: Bear Jones

Starting August 31
Getting More From Word - Creative Writing
Instructor: Bear Jones

Check the Class Calendar for the latest additions to the schedule

VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH

August's Volunteer of the Month is Ken Richardson front desk volunteer and sig leader. Ken been a member of HAL-PC since April of 1991! Congratulations, Ken - you are an inspiration!

THIS MONTH'S MAGAZINE

Look for the HAL-PC Magazine online

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