Summerset Computer Club

Presented by Jeff Hensel   April 12, 2018

Attendees: 17

Windows 10 has included a FREE Photos app for basic photo viewing and editing. Fortunately it has greatly improved and now very useful.

I’ve spoken about the Photos app in Windows 10 before and stated it was a good app but a rudimentary one at that. This is no longer the case.

The Photos app has greatly improved and will improve some more with the Windows Update coming in April of 2018.

In fact, the Windows Photos app is now similar to Google Photos.

Be that as it may, we’ll look at this app and see how we can do some common and desired things with photos.

Don’t worry. You will NOT need to be a computer expert to do these things.

The app is FREE and included with Windows 10

No need to download, it’s already there.

Although the Photos app can do quite a bit, we’ll look first at some basic but desired capabilities.

The Photos app can find ALL of the photos on your computer but you will need to tell it where to look.

Photo editing can be complex because one can do so much with most photo editor apps. We’ll only look at two basic things.  Making photos darker or lighter and cropping unwanted things to better show off the subject of the photo.

Slide shows are good things to see a group of photos quickly and easily. You can save a slideshow to share with friends and family. The Photos app does this nicely.

And lastly, I’ll do a “live” demonstration on how to do these things. We’ll go slow and allow much time for questions.

Click Start, scroll down to the ‘”P’s”

This has been a feature seen many years ago in Google’s Picasa program.

It is also available in Google Photos and Microsoft’s Photo Gallery program and even Apple’s Photos App.

Some many times we see that important portions of our photos are either too dark or too light. Although we can’t really fix a small portion of the photo and leave the rest the way it is, we can adjust the photo so the most important portion (the subject) is clear and easy to see.

We are only talking about light and dark here. There are many other aspects of photo editing but that is for another day.

I must point out however, blurry pictures cannot be made clear with this software or most photo editing software.  Photos are blurry because we move the camera or smartphone at the moment of taking the picture.

A slideshow is simply a group of photos and viewing them one after the other. A slideshow can be made to run automatically revealing one photo after the next until finished.

One can then save this slideshow, or group of photos into a single file for later viewing or sharing.

Improvements can be made to the slideshow by adding pleasant transitions between photos and even have music playing in the background.

Let’s take a look at using the Photos app to look at photos from a single folder.

We’ll edit them and save them.

Then we’ll produce and quick slideshow.

There are multiple ways to edit photos with the Photos app.

1. Open the Photos app and then find the photos.  Or, go to the desired photos using File Manager and double –click on one and let the Photos app open the photo.
2. Find our Photos. File Explorer. Right-click a photo to notice what app Windows will use to open a photo and we’ll see how to choose the desired app.
3. We’ll scroll through the photos to have a look.
4. Next we’ll go back to the beginning and edit a few of the photos and save the changes.
5. First we’ll lighten some and darken some.
6. Then we’ll crop a photo to focus on the subject.
7. Lastly we’ll create a slideshow.

After right-clicking on the photo, choose Open With and select the Photos app.

Choose Edit and Create at the upper right of screen.

Then choose Edit.

Select Adjust to see the Light and Color adjustment sliders.

After the adjustments are done, choose Save or Save a copy.

 

 

Presented by Jim Bush March 8, 2018

Jim shared terrific pictures from his recent trip to Africa.

Jim Bush’s Africa Safari Presentation

Presented by Jeff Hensel on February 8, 2018

Attendees: 22

Jeff shared some practical insights on how to create easy to remember passwords including those most popular passwords that should be avoided.

This is not a new topic but certainly worth talking about again.

Things change and password usage evolves.

There is much conversation about passwords.

We need them.

They must be safe and secure.

They have to be longer.

We need to update them.

Now we need security questions.

I keep forgetting them.

“They make me change them”

We’ll talk about how to make passwords that are secure but easy enough to remember them.

It’s OK to have the same password for many sites or accounts.  Maybe an exception or two.

There are passwords to avoid as people can figure them out.

We’ll talk about different types of password managers to help you keep track and remember accounts, User IDs and passwords. Even be able to share or pass on to family after we pass.

Your computer password is called a variety of names. Examples are: local account, Microsoft account, Apple ID, Google Account.

The Google Account is a Gmail account too.

An Apple ID is for iPhones, iPads,, Macs and iCloud.

If you have a password on this list you should change that password to improve security of that account or site.

Some passwords seem to appear on this list every year but there are some new ones this year. Mostly numbers or Pins.

Here is the article with the entire list. http://www.redmondpie.com/these-are-the-100-worst-passwords-of-2017-are-you-using-one-of-these/

We have to remember such a variety of passwords and Pin (Personal ID Numbers) these days it just strains our memory so much.

Fortunately some of the finger print readers are pretty good but facial recognition is still a little rough.

Some sites allow you to use your Google or Facebook account secure information as login IDS. The site has a secure arrangement with Google or Facebook that makes this work easily and securely. Don’t worry, you can turn this type of connection off from within Google or Facebook. Look in their security sections to perform this.

Another very safe and secure method is call 2 Factor Identification. This means your smartphone must be in your possession at the same time you desire to login. The site sends a code to your smartphone. Then you type this code into a page on the site. This completes a circle of identification.

Many of us have some method to record and save passwords and update them as things might change.

However going beyond a notebook or Excel file is wise and very useful.

There are programs (some are Free but most have a cost) that reside on your devices and/or computers  where you enter sites/accounts/etc. along with User IDs and Passwords along with other pertinent information. This app or program is now where you store and retrieve those IDs and passwords. All password managers require a password or PIN to open them so they are secure.

Password managers can also create complex and secure passwords by themselves and then  you enter them into the site.

Web-based password managers are very good and don’t require you to have the program on every device or computer. You simply get to it by going to their web page and enter your User ID and Password. Most of these password managers have a monthly or annual subscription. They are quite popular even with the costs.

Personally, I use an app/program on all of my devices and computers that synchronizes via Dropbox so they all have exactly the same information and update each other when something changes. However, I expect to evolve to a web-based password manager at some point so I don’t have to keep installing the app or program as I get a new computer or device.

Information to Keep In Your Password Manager

Work Information

Store your company’s portal log in to easily access information like your recent pay stubs, your 401(k) account, and your health insurance information.

Medical Records and Emergency Information

Keeping medical information on hand is simple enough to do, but finding a secure place to store it might be tricky. You can store scanned documents, medical cards, prescriptions, and other relevant information as attachments to the password manager entry that has your personal information (phone number, shipping address, email address) you use to fill out forms online. That way, selecting your name brings up whatever prescription information you need to make a purchase at your local Lens Crafters, or to purchase your medicine at a new pharmacy.

Children’s Account Information

Your kid can’t remember his login passwords? Add them to your password manager and tag them it with an identifying marker so you and your offspring can easily recall how to get back into their Club Penguin account.

Records of Purchases

Want to write off that desk you bought for your home office? Save the receipt for tax day. If you’ve got a physical transaction record, take a picture or scan the receipt, then upload it to your password manager. Got one emailed to you? Store that email as a PDF attachment and upload it to your manager.

Wireless Router Information

You’ve more than likely had to restart or even reset your router if you’ve had some intermittent internet issues. That means you probably had to remove it from its dusty hiding spot to re-enter the default username and password that grants you administrator access. Store that information in your password manager, along with your updated wi-fi login (the one with the clever name you thought up), so you can easily have and share it with guests.

Sharing With Others

There are more than a few passwords that might apply to everyone in your home, whether it’s the password for your router, your utilities account shared with your partner, or your Netflix login you send to your younger sibling.

Links to some Password Manager articles.

https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2407168,00.asp

https://lifehacker.com/5529133/five-best-password-managers

https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-password-managers/

https://www.consumerreports.org/digital-security/everything-you-need-to-know-about-password-managers/

When you create an account or sign up for something, you will typically create a User ID and a Password.

The User ID can typically be an email address but not always.. For example: name@gmail.com or name. The page will tell you.

You get to create the password and it will have some requirements.. Like length, types or characters required and maybe even a special character

A password scheme is a method used for creating a safe and secure password for any account you create or sign up for.

There are a variety of schemes but I’ll share just a few so that you can begin using one immediately.

Combining two or three unrelated things can make a very long password but most difficult for anyone but yourself to figure out.

In fact, you could use the very same password for virtually all of your websites and accounts.

Notice the 5 differences from password one to password two. Notice capital letters, letters to a number and a special character. These are very simple things to do and turn a pretty strong and secure password into a very secure one.

The third scheme is one I use where every password is different based on the single letter at the end. OK, OK. Some sites that begin with the same letter ‘G’ will have the very same password. This is perfectly OK and still very secure.

 

Presented by Jeff Hensel on January 11, 2018

Attendees: 17

Jeff shared is favorite and most used apps related to travel and apps used while away from home.

To be fair, I know there are many, many apps that will fit the categories listed today and even more categories.

These are just the apps I use. Please feel free to share apps you use.

Again, these are just my favorites. I suspect you will have some favorites of your own. Please share!

More than travel related apps but I’ve also included by favorite apps I use while being out and about. It is truly amazing how many useful apps there are and so many are FREE.

Kayak is a travel planning app that can search for airfares from all airlines from a single screen. Of course one can use Expedia, etc., I just like using Kayak. One of my favorite features of Kayak is creating an “alert” that shares when prices change up or down. I get an email or text and can make a purchase decision without opening the app itself.

I flew Delta for work for many years and really like the efficiency of Southwest. Lately, however, I have been using Alaska airlines.

Flight Aware  is one of those apps that lets you know when a flight is arriving late or early. If I have to pick someone up from the airport I open Flight Aware before leaving to the airport and look at it while in the “cellphone lot”.

Passport, My TSA and Global Entry are somewhat new to help frequent travelers. We just signed up for Global Entry which provides for TSA PreCheck for going through quick security lines and a streamlined entry process through Immigration and Customs.

Although there are many navigation apps one can get from either apps store, my favorite is Google Maps with Apple Maps now a close second.

Sharing your location on a map is most useful if you are traveling with others or want friends and relatives to know where you are by looking at their Google Map.

NOTE: A Google Account is required.

If you haven’t already, add their Gmail address to your Google contacts.

On your Android phone or tablet, open the Google Maps app  and sign in.

Tap Menu   Location sharing  Add People .

Choose how long you want to share your location.

Tap Select People.

If you’re asked about your contacts, give Google Maps access.

Choose who you want to share with.

Tap Share.

While traveling by car I love to look at the Waze app. The screen is more interactive and easier to see , I most like to “social” experience where people leave tidbits of information like, traffic accidents, heavy traffic or police parked along side the highway.

Of note, the AMTRAK mobile app has gone through a pleasant refresh and updated user interface.

I’ve been loving BART lately and looking forward to the eBART Extension along Highway 4. There are a few BART apps but my favorite is Easy BART as it is “easy” to see and read.

Although TriDelta Transit doesn’t have an app for iPhone (it does for Android), I have an applet in my iPhone Notifications screen that shows Google Transit Departures which includes status of bus stops close to me and includes BART.

I’ve needed to book at hotel while on the  road and my trusty Hilton Honors apps has allowed me to do this without making a call.

I’m sure  your favorite hotel chain has an app too.

Movie Pass is new to me and referred by a co-worker of my wife. $9.95 per month to go to up to 1 movie per day. Yes,, just $9.95 and get into a regular movie FREE.

When traveling I use my phone for an alarm clock instead of those hotel clocks that are rarely set correctly and I have to struggle to read the small text to figure out how to set an alarm. Well no more. I just use my Nightstand alarm clock that is always available and always set correctly.

Tripit is an app where I save travel plans as we get ready to travel. It automatically sees travel confirmation emails and inserts them into the app so you don’t have to enter things again. It will even show departure and arrival gate information and let us view airport terminals for food and shopping.

Need a tour of places to see when traveling. Try Trip Advisor where travels rate tours and events. Please note there are Ads too.

Let’s use the GPS (global positioning System) capabilities of our phones and see what is near us…at home or wherever we are.

iExist share what types of places are along the highway. That’s right, find out early where you might need to stay, ear or shop.

Around Me and Food Near Me show the same things but wherever you might be. There are plenty more of these apps but these are the two I use now.

And the old standby app for customer entered review. Yelp has more than food but you can see reviews for auto shops and even doctors.

I subscribe to Travelzoo emails for travel within my favorite cities and airports. I use the FREE service only and I a lot of emails. Almost too many.  However, I learn lots of new things to see and my bucket list is getting larger and larger.

I’m looking forward to using Google Translate on my next Mexico trip. I’ll let you know.

I’ve used Open Table many times to make restaurant reservations from home and while traveling.  It works great!

A few honorable mentions your might take a peak at.

Please share your own favorite travel related apps by writing a comment below. Thanks!

 

 

December 14, 2017     Presented by Jeff Hensel

Attendees:  15

At the meeting, Jim Bush auctioned off two used computers donated by Summerset residents with the proceeds to the “Friends of the Brentwood Library” in the name of Ron Fugazzi. Ron passed away last month and one of most favorite organizations was the Friends of the Brentwood Library. Thank you to the two winners.

A club member has the following question and here are some answers. App or program to send holiday greetings via text or email

Along with Brentwood’s new , approximately 1 year old dispatch center , they have included the Smart911 system to support Brentwood residents.

This is particularly good for we seniors.

Play the Good Morning America segment on You Tube

Smart911 Profile Form

Find quick answers on how Smart911 works, account and service related information, and more.

Smart911 Safety Profile & Account Information

Emergency Preparedness Services

Notification Services

Smart911 Safety Profile & Account Information

How Does Smart911 Work?

Smart911 allows citizens to provide the additional details that 9-1-1 call takers may need in order to assist them during an emergency. When you dial 9-1-1 today the information received by the 9-1-1 call center can be limited based on the type of phone you are calling on. With Smart911, anytime you make an emergency call from a phone registered with your Safety Profile, the 9-1-1 systems recognizes your phone number and automatically displays your profile on the screen of the call taker who receives your call.

At a time when you may be panicked, or unable to communicate, or it could be unsafe to communicate, Smart911 ensures that the details you would need to tell 9-1-1 are immediately available in the event you cannot verbally provide them. Smart911 is free, private and secure. Please review our Privacy Policy for further information.

Why Use Smart911?

Why should I use Smart911?
Smart911 can help protect you, your loved ones, and other members of your household. By creating a Safety Profile with Smart911 during a calm moment, you can take the time to ensure that the information is correct and accurate and exactly what you would like to be communicated to emergency response teams in an emergency. Smart911 is free to all citizens.

Where is Smart911 available? When I call 9-1-1 will they get my information?
Although Smart911 is a nationwide service, it is not available in every municipality yet. Automated delivery of a Safety Profile to local law enforcement, medical and fire responders is dependent on local public safety agencies installing the Smart911 technology. Even if the service is not yet available in your home or work jurisdiction, we encourage you to create a Smart911 profile, since you may travel into an area that has enabled Smart911.

Enter Your Zip Code:GO

Want Smart911 in your area?
Advocate for it now

How do I know if my Safety Profile was successfully created?
When you complete registration, Smart911 will automatically direct you to your Smart911 Safety Profile and will send a message to your registered email address confirming your account. Smart911 will not deliver your Safety Profile to 9-1-1 answering centers unless you have verified the phone(s) listed in your profileby responding to the text message or automated call placed to that phone.

How can I control who sees my Smart911 information?
Your Safety Profile will only be displayed to a 9-1-1 call taker if you place a 9-1-1 call from a phone confirmed with your Smart911 account, and the 9-1-1 center receiving your call participates in the Smart911 program. You are in full control of the information you enter and the phone numbers you choose to associate with your Safety Profile.

Some Emergency Management jurisdictions also subscribe to Smart911’s advanced Emergency Management system. In these jurisdictions, users can make information within their profile available to Emergency Management Agencies in the event of an emergency. This allows these agencies to search for individuals in need based on criteria in their profile. For example: individuals relying on electricity for medical needs or those who need assistance evacuating in a natural disaster.

If you enter an address within a jurisdiction subscribed to this service, you will be asked if you wish to participate in this program. Your participation helps your local Emergency Management agency better prepare for and respond to emergencies.

You can change your sharing preferences and Smart911 Safety Profile content at any time by logging into your Smart911 account and clicking on settings.

Privacy & Security

Is my information kept private?
Yes. Your privacy is important to us. Your information is made available ONLY to 9-1-1 call takers and responders ONLY in the event you call 9-1-1. In some areas, you can choose to allow Smart911 to share your profile with Emergency Managers as they prepare for and respond to emergencies. If you reside or work in one of these areas, you will be presented with this option.

Is my information secure?
Smart911 utilizes the highest standards in physical and computer security technologies and conducts regular audits to ensure all information held in Smart911 is kept secure, and only made available to 9-1-1 and emergency responders who are responding to or planning for emergencies. It’s our business to protect your information and ensure it gets to the people that need it, when they need it.

Smart911 is accredited by the Better Business Bureau and secured and powered by Norton and Verisign.

Will Smart911 sell my email address or spam me?
No. Smart911 will not sell your email address to any person or company. Smart911 will only use your email address to keep you informed of important information related to the Smart911 service and your Safety Profile.

Does Smart911 sell subscriber data?
No. Smart911 respects your privacy and wants to ensure your trust in our service. We do not sell or share any information from your Safety Profile to third parties or marketing organizations. Your information is always locked in our secure facilities until it is delivered to participating 9-1-1 centers when you dial 9-1-1. Please review our Privacy Policy for further information.

Can 9-1-1 operators access my Smart911 information even if I don’t call 9-1-1?
No. Smart911 information is only made available to 9-1-1 call takers when you call 9-1-1 from phone that has been verified with your Safety Profile.

Some areas have access to Smart911’s advanced Emergency Management system, through which Emergency Managers can access information within your Safety Profile when planning for and responding to emergencies. Your profile is only searchable by Emergency Management if you live or work in a supported area, and ONLY if you have elected to make information in your profile available to these agencies. if you provide an address in an area subscribing to this aspect of the Smart911 service, you will be asked if you wish to participate.

My Safety Profile, Information & Registration

Who enters and maintains my Smart911 information?
You do. Smart911 users decide what information they want to include in their Safety Profile. This allows you to protect your family in the way that best meets your needs. You may change, add, and remove information whenever you choose to do so. It is your responsibility to keep the information up-to-date.

What information is provided to the 9-1-1 operator?
All of the information you enter(ed) within your Safety Profile is displayed to the 9-1-1 operator when you call 9-1-1.

How can I see all the information that is stored within my Safety Profile?
Log into Smart911 using your user ID and password. The first page you will be directed to is your Safety Profile. All information associated with your profile is presented on this page. If the information is not on this page, Smart911 does not have it and 9-1-1 call takers will not have access to it.

Why should I share my information with Emergency Management?
In some areas, you can elect to share your Smart911 information with Emergency Management in addition to 9-1-1. This allows your local emergency officials to better plan for and respond to disasters. (e.g. hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding, power outages). Having knowledge of specific community needs, such as disabilities and special medical considerations, gives Emergency Management the opportunity to identify and better help individuals who will need the most assistance during an incident. Even if no member of your household has significant medical conditions, there are numerous pieces of information that can be useful to these emergency planners. For example, did you know that pets (other than service animals) are not allowed in an emergency shelter? By knowing the number of animals that may require emergency sheltering, emergency management can be better prepared to accommodate pets. We encourage you to share your information with both 9-1-1 and Emergency Management so you can be protected both during a 9-1-1 call and in the event of a disaster.

Even if no member of your household has significant medical conditions, there are numerous pieces of information that are of interest to these emergency planners. For example, did you know that pets (other than service animals) are not allowed in an emergency shelter? By knowing the number of animals that may require emergency sheltering, emergency management can be better prepared to accommodate pets.

We encourage you to share your information with both 9-1-1 and Emergency Management so you can be protected both during a 9-1-1 call and in the event of a disaster.

Why do I have to update or confirm my Smart911 information every 6 months?
It is critical that emergency responders have the most current information in order to provide the fastest and most accurate response at your time of emergency. In some cases, having outdated information can send responders to an incorrect location or with incorrect details on the person in need.

How long will my information remain available to Smart911?
Your information will remain in Smart911 until you delete your account. However your Safety Profile is only active and available to 9-1-1 for six months after you log in to your account. If your account does not show activity by way of logging in for a period over 6 months your Safety Profile will be suspended and no information will be delivered to 9-1-1. You can reactivate your account simply by logging in using your User ID and Password.

When can I access or change my critical care and emergency rescue information?
Anytime. You can access your Safety Profile by entering your User ID and Password, and make as many changes as often as needed.

What is Critical Care information?
Critical Care Information is information that, if known to emergency response teams, could help them better prepare for or respond to an incident in a manner specifically tailored to you or members of your household. This may be information about how to find your residence, medical information about members of your household, information that would be helpful in a rescue, and other information that could be helpful in an emergency.

What do I do if I forgot my User ID?
If you have forgotten your User ID, go to the login page and click the ‘Retrieve Login Information’ link. On the next screen, click ‘I forgot my User ID’. You will then be able to retrieve your User ID by entering your email address. Your User ID will then be emailed to you.

What do I do if I forgot my Password?
If you have forgotten your Password, go to the login page and click the ‘Retrieve Login Information’ link. On the next screen, choose ‘I forgot my password’. Enter your User ID and when prompted, answer the secret question you chose when registering. A link to reset your password will be emailed to you.

What do I do if I forgot BOTH my User ID and my Password?
If you have forgotten your Password, go to the login page and click the ‘Retrieve Login Information’ link. On the next screen, choose ‘I forgot both’. You will then be guided through a process to retrieve first your User ID, and then your Password.

What if I do not receive a Text Confirmation?
Failure to receive a confirmation code can happen for a number of reasons including your number being from a new recently ported carrier, lack of a premium text messaging plan, or inability of your carrier to receive a premium SMS message.

If you have not received a confirmation code to your mobile phone within a few minutes of choosing this confirmation option, we recommend that you follow these steps. First, please verify the phone number that you are registering is correct. Second, be sure that you carrier, the mobile carrier value matching to your phone, matches that of your wireless provider. If these steps do not help, confirm your mobile number by an automated voice call.

To trigger an automated voice confirmation, simply add your mobile number under the ‘Phones’ section of your profile and designate the ‘Phone Type’ as ‘Mobile’. Accept the Terms and Conditions.and click the ‘Save and Confirm via Phone Call’ button, which is listed as the second option.

What if I do not receive a Voice Call Confirmation?
Failure to receive a confirmation call can happen for a number of reasons including your number having a block against certain types of 800 numbers.

If you have not received an automated voice call to confirm your number within a few minutes of choosing this confirmation option, please verify the phone number that you are registering is correct.

If the number you are attempting to place a confirmation call to is correct and you are still not receiving a confirmation call,  email help@smart911.com with your full name, email address, phone number and the best time to reach you. Please include in your email that you are unable to receive a voice confirmation.

What if I received a notification that my number is no longer registered?
This can occur if a separate account is created for a different member of the same household, or when a person who shares a number creates a second account. In these situations it is recommended that instead of creating a separate account, you should create a second person profile within the same account. Note there is no limit on the number of people, addresses or phone numbers that can be registered within a single account.

Service Availability

Can I search using my zip code to see if Smart911 is available in my area?
Yes! Enter your Zip Code here to find out if Smart911 serves your community or the local area.

Enter Your Zip Code:GO

Want Smart911 in your area?
Advocate for it now

Please note: 9-1-1 jurisdictions do not exactly match zip code boundaries, and there are many factors that play into routing a 9-1-1 call. It is possible that a call placed from a given zip code will be routed to a 9-1-1 call center that is not enabled with Smart911.

Is Smart911 trying to get every 9-1-1 center to use Smart911’s technology?
Yes. Smart911 is working to make its technology and service available to all 9-1-1 centers across the country, and the coverage area is rapidly growing every day.

Are there cases where my Safety Profile may not be available to the 9-1-1 call answering center?
There could be. If your 9-1-1 call is routed to a 9-1-1 call answering center that has not installed Smart911 your Safety Profile will not be available to the 9-1-1 call taker.

The best way to help Smart911 be adopted by a 9-1-1 center serving your Zip Code is to Advocate for Smart911.

Services Options & Cost

Is Smart911 Really Free?
Yes. Smart911 service is free to all citizens. Services are paid for by public agencies ensuring free and equal access to all citizens of the community.

Does my Safety Profile expire?
No. However Smart911 requires you to log into your Safety Profile and confirm or update your information every 6 months. Even if no information has changed within 6 months, 9-1-1 call takers need to be assured that the information they are viewing during your call is accurate within the past 6 months.

How do I cancel my account?
You can cancel your account by logging into your Safety Profile, selecting the settings tab and then clicking the “Remove Account” button. Cancellations are effective immediately. Your information will no longer be active in Smart911 and it will not be displayed to emergency response teams should you dial 9-1-1.

Emergency Preparedness Services

Did you know answering 9-1-1 calls and preparing for disasters are very different activities, and they are often handled by different organizations? 9-1-1 responds to specific citizen reported incidents. Emergency Managers need to prepare for and respond to incidents that affect large segments of the community. Because of this, Emergency Managers can benefit greatly from being able to view information about their community outside of a 9-1-1 call. This information is not only valuable during a disaster, but can improve the continuous planning and preparation that Emergency Managers conduct ahead of disasters.

How can I tell if I am able to share my profile with Emergency Managers through this service?
Simply create an account. If one of the addresses on your account falls within a jurisdiction that uses this service for disaster planning and response, the Other Services section of your Preferences page will provide you with the option to share your profile to support Emergency Preparedness.

How is my information accessed by Emergency Management?
Through this service, Emergency Managers can ask questions about the information on-file for citizens that live in a given area. If you elect to participate in this feature, and your profile contains information Emergency Managers are interested in (for example, you live in an area they select, and you state that you do not have access to transportation in the event of an evacuation order), then your name, address, and contact information will be displayed to the Emergency Manager making the inquiry.

Can I change my mind about who I share my information with after my initial registration?
Yes, by simply logging into your account. You can modify the services you participate in from within the Other Services section of the Preferences page. Please be aware that not all services are available in all areas.

Why should I share my information with Emergency Management?
Sharing your information with emergency management will allow local emergency officials to better plan for and respond to disasters. These officials regularly exercise scenarios and make plans to better prepare for disasters (i.e. hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding, power outages). Having knowledge of specific needs within the community, such as disabilities and special medical conditions, gives them the opportunity to identify individuals who will be most in need of assistance during an incident.

Even if no member of your household has a significant medical condition, there are still numerous pieces of information that are of interest to Emergency Managers. For example, did you know that pets (other than service animals) are typically not allowed in emergency shelters? By knowing the number of pets in the community that require emergency sheltering, Emergency Managers can develop strategies to better accommodate pets.

We encourage you to share your information with all services available through your account in order to take full advantage of the safety services your community offers you.

Notification Services

How do I sign up for notifications from my community?
In some areas, you can elect to receive SMS (text), Email, or Voice notifications. This may include emergency and/or non-emergency communications. The specific services available to you will depend on your home, work, or other frequented address. Once you create an account and specify your addresses, the notification services available to you will be listed on the Preferences page, in a section titled Notifications Preferences. If the Notification Preferences section is not displayed, notification services are not available in your area at this time.

Will I be charged if I sign up to receive notifications?
We do not charge for this service. However, your wireless phone carrier may apply Standard or other SMS (text) messaging charges depending upon your carrier’s plan and subscription details. Once registered, you can opt-out of SMS messages by managing your Notification Preferences, or by texting STOP to 67283 or 226787.

How do I control how I receive notifications from this system?
Your notification preferences are managed from within the Preferences page. The Device Preferences section allows you to choose which of the contacts associated with your account (mobile phones, landlines, and email addresses) you wish to receive notifications. The Notification Preferences section allows you to select which types of notifications you wish to receive. You must select at least one Device Preference and one Notification Preference to receive notifications. Please note that not all messages will be sent via all communication modes. We recommend you select all available Devices and Notification types (Text, Voice, Email) to ensure you receive all notifications you are interested in.

How do I add or change the Email addresses I wish to receive notifications?
Email addresses are associated with each person in your household. You can add or edit the email address associated with a person by clicking the Edit Basic Info link. From this page you can add or edit an email address, and specify whether you wish to receive notifications via this email address.

 

One of the founding members and past president of our computer club, Ron Fugazzi, passed away Friday, November 17, 2017.

Ron has been our club’s Secretary and frequent presenter of fun and interesting topics. This is a tremendous loss for our club.

The viewing/celebration of life will be at the Brentwood Funeral Home this Sunday, November 26 from 5 to 8pm.

The mass will follow on Monday, 11 AM,  at Immaculate Heart of Mary in Brentwood, directly followed by the reception in the church hall.

As Ron always closed his emails –

‘Carpe Diem’ which is an exclamation used to urge someone to make the most of the present time and give little thought to the future’

November 9, 2017    Presented by Jeff Hensel

Attendees: 32

Although seeing Part 1 of Smart Phones for Seniors is not required for this one, click here or simply scroll down to the previous presentation to take a look.

NOTE: If you would like to get an automatic email showing the latest Computer Club presentation, join the many others who have chosen to “Follow Us via Email”. Enter your email in the box to the right where it asks if you would like to follow this site.

Jeff shares more non-technical answers to common questions about getting and using a smart phone.

We will continue on smartphones for seniors by sticking to  the basics.

No technical jargon allowed!

Please feel free to add smarphone questions for future meetings by going to the Smart Phones for Seniors page on our club website.  WWW.SSCCB.wordpress.com

It is critical you remember your Apple ID and Password as well as a Google Account ID and Password.

NOTE: When creating the Apple ID, you should use your current email address. Although you must create the password it CAN be the SAME as your email password.

The Google Account used for Android phones (Samsung, Motorola, LG, etc.) is used for everything Google. This means the gmail, Google Photos, etc.

We will do our best to share smartphone topics and make them appropriate for any smartphone. Either an iPhone by Apple or and Android by Samsung, LG, Motorola, etc.

We will do our best to share smartphone topics and make them appropriate for any smartphone. Either an iPhone by Apple or and Android by Samsung, LG, Motorola, etc.

The ‘swipe’ is a method of seeing another screen and you can swipe in virtually all directions.

However, a swipe to the right can have a subtle difference to reveal a different screen.

1.Begin the swipe from anywhere on the screen (orange circles).

2.Begin the swipe from outside of the left edge and swipe to the right. On some phones, namely an Android phone, this will reveal a different screen.

This doesn’t work on every smartphone nor every screen of your smartphone. But give it a try to see what occurs.

One of the most fun things to do is to look through the thousands of available apps for your smartphone. And you’ll be amazed at how many are absolutely FREE.

Apps can be FREE because the developer simply desires to do this or the app was created for a store and the app is a method to show their brand and opportunity for you to use services.

Or, the app is FREE to you but small advertisements appear on the screen at certain times throughout use. In some cases the ads are hardly noticeable while in other cases they are not.

From a person perspective, I try FREE apps first. If I use the app more than once per day or it the app provides significant value, I will pay.

These days, the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store have about an equal number of good apps. I’m not counting ‘fart’ flashlight apps or any others in that ilk.

Apple has a few subtleties different from Android.

Apple app icons always appear on a screen or within a folder on the screen.

Android apps can be deleted from the screen but they remain on the phone. All apps are found in the App Drawer which is identified by an icon. Some Android phones have a slightly different App Drawer icon.

On Android smartphones, there is an App Drawer icon where you can touch to see every app installed on the phone. Importantly, you do NOT have to see every app icon on a screen is you don’t want to.

Conversely, iPhones and iPads do not have a drawer thus, all installed apps will have a visible icon that takes up screen space.

You do NOT have to use every app that is included with your phone. In many cases, Apple and Android will let you uninstall included apps. In some cases, included apps are forced to remain. This is the cost to you for having free apps included with your phone.

However, after experimenting with new and different types of apps, you may find that you have screen after screen that are full of apps.

Here is what I do.

Goodness, has this changed over the last 2 years.

No more $199 smartphone with a 2 year contract. This ship has sailed.

Now, you can purchase a smartphone or make payments.

Alternatively, some carriers offer new but older model phones for free with a contract but no more top of the line phones.

I hear the question, “which is better, connect to wifi or connect to AT&T or Verizon?”

The is not an either or answer.

However, connecting to wifi, when you are at home, is FREE since your home will have free wifi as part of your internet service. Actually, you pay for this for wifi is not an extra charge.

When you are not at home, connecting to your carrier with a data plan is how the smartphone connects to the internet. Typically, the data plan has a charge but you can do lots and lots of stuff with the minimum of data plans.

If your are a frugal person, you can certainly was the bytes and the cost of those bytes but personally, it is cumbersome to track and might save you $5 per month by watching closely.

What I do NOT recommend is to turn your phone off when not in use. Yes, this can save a few pennies or even a few dollars per month but it turns your phone into a piece of plastic, metal and battery that provides no value. Leave it on.

Ok, Ok. Bluetooth is a technical term and feature that many of us won’t use.

Wait, I use Bluetooth every day.

My earphones use this wireless technology to allow me to hear a book or music with a wire dangling around my neck.

My Fitbit health tracker sends information from my wrist to my smartphone throughout the day and I don’t have to do anything.

Yes, using Bluetooth is a battery draining feature. But, it doesn’t drain it by much at all.

Other than making phone calls with y our smartphone, other means of communication exist with it.

One is email and another is texting.

Electronic mail is simply a paperless and immediate form of letter writing to one or more people at a time. Actually, this is amazing in and of itself.  One can even include photos or documents as part of the email just like including photos and documents within a letter. Email is very popular.

Texting is another form of writing but in a slightly different manner but in many ways getting the same result. Write a message to one of more people and they get it instantly. Texting is written to a phone number wile email is written to an email address. The two are completely separate.

The downsides of the two are also significant.

Email not so much of a downside but texting…now that’s a different story.

Many believe texting is just like speaking. They expect you to answer immediately. And, in a lot of cases, we do answer immediately. That can cause some obvious problems. We can stare at our phones while walking down the sidewalk or across the street or even while driving. HORRORS!!!

Even though one can send a photo by text, the quality of the original photo is greatly reduced to allow it to flow across the texting network. Sending photos via text is NOT a method to share good quality photos that the receiver might want to print.

To save time and energy and to avoid typos via that ‘fat finger’, simply talking to your phone and have it convert it to text is also one of it’s amazing features. Speech to text has evolved to far in the past few years that speaking and seeing the correct text is virtually guaranteed.

I’ve heard this question many times .

In the early day of smartphones, just 10 years ago, connecting them to our computer was the only method of installing apps or uploading photos to our computer.

Now, this is completely wireless and connecting to our computer is unnecessary.

 

Presented by Jeff Hensel

25 Attendees

Smartphones for Seniors – Part 1 2017 with Speaker Notes

Jeff shared the basics of smartphones, what the look like, what they do and how they operate. However, do NOT feel compelled to get a smartphone if your flip phone works perfectly well for you.

 

We will talk about some practical steps to help you organize or re-organize you photos on your computer.

We will go slowly and have lots of time for questions.

We will even discover how to first find our photos if you don’t know where they all are.

We will keep discussions non-technical and for seniors.

Feature phones on the left. Smart phones on the right.

Feature phones do a few things only. They make and receive phone calls!

Feature phones can do text messages but typing is difficult at best.

Smart phones can make and receive phone calls but they do so much more. They do so much more that some might say they are confusing and complicated. Frankly, I would not disagree with this statement.

This is informational as a reminder but I will not go into detail at this time.

However, I strongly recommend you choose a cloud service that can get photos from your smart phones and saved safely to the cloud.

Let’s see how one types the word ‘hello’

The letter ‘h’ is under the number 4 and it is the 2nd letter. Therefore we push the number 4 two times.

The letter ‘e’ is under the number 3 and is the 2nd letter. Therefore we push the number 3 two times.

The letter ‘l’ is under the number 5 and is the 3rd letter. Therefore we push the number 3 three times.

The letter ‘o’ is under the number 6 and is the 3rd letter. Therefore we push the number 6 three times.

12 Unexpectedly Cools Things You Didn’t Know Your Smartphone Could Do.  By Shray  Chawla

https://www.scoopwhoop.com/Unexpectedly-Cool-Things-You-Didnt-Know-Your-Smartphone-Could-Do/#.8auswqbo1

I, like many others, have difficulty seeing smaller text. In addition, many think it is not practical to read books or news articles on a smartphone because the text will be too small.

Fret not, text size can be adjusted to help us all!

It is critical you remember your Apple ID and Password as well as a Google Account ID and Password.

NOTE: When creating the Apple ID, you should use your current email address. Although you must create the password it CAN be the SAME as your email password.

The Google Account used for Android phones (Samsung, Motorola, LG, etc.) is used for everything Google. This means the gmail, Google Photos, etc.

Smartphones come in a variety of sizes. Mostly, this means the size of the screen.

The screen is measured diagonally (just like TVs).

All smartphones have the same things to push although in different places. There are just a couple of exceptions these days as some of the newer iPhones and Android phones no longer have headphone jacks.

On the left, shows where a headphone plugs in which is in addition to the charging port.

Wireless headphones can be used on virtually all smartphones with a technology called Bluetooth.

a standard for the short-range wireless interconnection of mobile phones, computers, and other electronic devices.

On the right, the headphone jack is no longer there. This is true for the most recent iPhones and will begin to happen on some Android smartphones.

Although smartphone batteries have improved their charged life, the batteries still seem to drain down right when we need them the most.

Replacement batteries.

External charging battery

Battery case

There are folks who simply love the feel of their phones. Yes, I do too but I am more concerned about the potential damage if dropped. And yes I’ve dropped my phone.

If you would like to have one of your questions answered, please click here and submit your question.

 

Presented by Jeff Hensel   September 14, 2017

Attendees: 19

Jeff shared some practical methods and tips to organize photos on your computer.

 

We will assume photos are on your computer. We have spoken before about methods to get photos from your smart phone or camera and on to your computer. Please feel free to go to the club website and look at the previous presentations.

This is informational as a reminder but I will not go into detail at this time.

However, I strongly recommend you choose a cloud service that can get photos from your smart phones and saved safely to the cloud.

After saving photos to a cloud service like Dropbox, Google Photos, iCloud or OneDrive, you can then install that service’s app on ;your computer and those same photos will then synchronize onto your computer.

I do not recommend using all of these services at the same time, I’m simply showing the more popular ones to you.

Dropbox

Pictures is not a cloud service but a folder that Windows creates

OneDrive is automatically comes for FREE from Microsoft

Google Drive is part of Google Photos (see the Google Photos folder highlighted in blue). You must manually install Google Drive and login to your Google Account used with Google Photos.

iCloud Photos is from Apple and works with iPhones, iPads and Macs.

Organizing photos can be a confusing topic because there are many methods to perform this necessary evil.

I will simply name a few. Although I have a favorite or two, all of these will work perfectly well.

To get things started, you might want to decide on a method that works for you.

Later, I will share and show what I do but this is strictly up to you and there are lots of “right” ways to do this.

You can organize photos using an app or you can simply use folders on your computer.

Again, lots of right ways to do this.

Although one might think of an album like a physical book, an album on a computer is “virtual” in nature. In others words, a photo is assigned to an Album but NOT physically moved anywhere.

Think of this as an Album mark is being placed on the photo file for a means of organizing.

3:58 Tutorial from Microsoft. File Explorer in Windows 10 Microsoft Training

NOTE: There is a banner ad across the screen encouraging you to get the entire course for free. You can quickly close this ad by clicking the small ‘X’ in the upper right corner of the ad.

Organizing by date shows a folder named for each year, and within each of these year folders is a folder for each of the months.

Please note that naming a month folder will not sort January to December since sorting is done alphabetically. A different option is to numerically name the month from 1 to 12. Please note that the first few months have a ‘0’ before the number to make them sort as expected.

Google Photos automatically creates the Year (2015) and Months (01 – 12) in the Google Photos folder in Google Drive so you do not have to.

Organizing by event simply means naming each folder for the event of the pictures.

This might be a vacation to Maui, a wedding or other trip.

Personally, I put the year of the event at the beginning to help me.

My wife and I use Dropbox.

Photos are synchronized into the Camera Upload folder under Dropbox.

My wife then creates folders and moves photos into them.

I must admit that I also use Google Photos in addition but my wife doesn’t look at them.

Looking at photos with File Explorer has some nice and useful features.

We look at photos  as Large or Extra Large icons instead of looking them by Details which is not as pleasing.

Search for any file that ends in JPG or PNG

Move these files to a single folder Like Pictures

I’ve heard this question many times before and this might help.

How much room does a photo take?

Is my computer big enough to hold my photos?

Will I run out of space on my computer if I have a lot of photos?

This picture is 9.45 megabytes (MB) or 9,914,910 bytes.

105 of these pictures equals 1 gigabyte (GB)

June 22, 2017     Presented by Ron Fugazzi

Attendees: 20

Documenting Your Trip With Photos

Ron shared some very helpful tips and strategies for taking and saving remarkable photos during a vacation.

The bulk of Ron’s presentation will focus on using one’s smartphone for taking pictures.

If you are one of those people who takes pictures and then goes through and edits them one by one, a new practice might be to follow a few tips and take better pictures and avoid virtually all of the time editing them later.

To reduce, and possibly eliminate, worry for the potential loss of vacation pictures, find and utilize one of the many cloud services for saving those pictures. All it takes is an internet connection with your phone and those pictures will safely and securely flow to the cloud for safe keeping. Dropbox, iCloud and Google Photo are three of the most popular services.

Ron found a new device that is a flash drive that connects directly to your smartphone. Connect and save photos right on the spot. The brand Ron found is called On The Go flash drive or OTG. Reasonably priced in the $30 range.

Composition of a photo is really critical for taking those remarkable and “wow” pictures. Take a few moments to review the presentation for those tips.

Please feel free to open the presentation to see the other slides talking about these basics of photo taking.

An “off the cuff” assignment was to find the User Guide for your specific smartphone and read the section pertaining to the camera. This will greatly help you discover some of the very easy and fancy features for picture taking. Use a Google Search (or Bing or Yahoo) and type”User Guide for [your smartphone model]. Example “user guide for iPhone 7 Plus” or “User Guide for Galaxy S6”.