Previous 2011
Meetings And Events

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Google vs Facebook

Shawn Conroy
http://www.shawnpconroy.ca

Shawn will show how Google's business plan is affecting us. See how they are positioning themselves to battle with Facebook. More and more people are using the products from these two companies and their actions will have a great impact on the future of computing.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Photography on a budget
Paul Mather

http://paulhmather.wordpress.com/
Visit Paul's Photography Blog

We often see the works of professional photographers and wonder how they took such great shots. Partly, it is their excellent equipment but mostly it is knowing how to use their equipment and knowledge to the fullest extent. There is also the very important artistic eye.

Paul will show us how to use our equipment, no matter how meager, to its fullest. He will also share ideas on how to make equipment, rather than purchasing it. Combining this and some tips on how to use "point and shoot" cameras to take artistic shots, we will improve our "snapshots" and bring out the artist in us.

Feel free to bring your cameras and any ideas that you may also have to help take great shots with simple equipment.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Optical Drives
and
How TV is Changing

David Jackson and Paul Mather

David will take us through the world of optical drives and help us use them to the fullest.

There are a lot of choices now with optical drives; CD. DVD+. DVD-, DVD-Dual Layer, DVD-RW, DVD-RAM, Blu-Ray. How do they differ and why would you use one of the over the other. Does your hardware make a difference in your choice? What are Optical drives used for and are there other options?

Paul will be showing us how televisions, video and internet have changed how we view and purchase TV.

There will be a few Televisions purchased and received over Christmas and there are new ones on the way. Paul will show us how the internet and TV is merging and how "watching TV" is becoming a thing of the past.

David and Paul will also be responding to your tech questions.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

High Dynamic Range

Mike Clarke

High Dynamic Range Imaging is another tool for getting more out of a scene than you can with just a single photograph. Several photos of a scene are taken at different exposures to bring out details in the shadows, as well as in the bright areas.

This evening's presentation will start with a basic review of how light is captured in the camera, how to determine your own camera's dynamic range and then move on to how the pictures are "sandwiched" with various HDR programs. The results range from the truly amazing to the really weird and from the sublime to the ridiculous. Any camera with controls, including the older point and shoots, can take the required photos, and one of the best HDR programs (Photomatix) provides a free demo with no time limit.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

David and Paul's Goodies
Tips and Free programs and apps
Also
Networking using House Wiring

David Jackson and Paul Mather

David and Paul will be sharing tips and free programs and apps available from the web.

They will also be demonstrating Networking using house wiring. This is a good alternative to those who want speed but not the inconvenience of wiring.

David and Paul will also be responding to your tech questions.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Create a Slideshow
to Show Off
Your Pictures

Paul Mather

Watching someone elses pictures can be deadly .... especially after the first 15 minutes. See how various software can be used to create different effects and most importantly how to have your audience wanting more.

Over the last few years people have asked Paul to create a slideshow for their event. Whether it is a memorial, birthday, anniversary or wedding. "No matter what the slideshow is for, there is one common thread!"

What is it? Come and find out.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Staying connected with home and office while travelling

Axel Dittmann

We will introduce the basic concept of Virtual Private Networks (VPN) and how a VPN can be used to connect with home or office computer systems while on the road.

The first half of the presentation will explain what VPN is, how VPN is different to remote computer access and a general understanding on how these work together. We will discuss how to connect two offices before looking at connecting mobile users. The first part will conclude with a discussion on finding the right VPN option for you based on your usage, security and cost requirements. Part two of the presentation will demonstrate the setup and use of a free and instant private network over the internet using REMOBO, using a remote desktop protocol client to view and interact with a remote computer, and gaining access to your files.

Axel Dittman, Executive Consultant, Client Architecture at CGI, has over 20 years of experience in the management of corporate Information Technology. We are very fortunate to have Axel share this experience in a manner that will help us as individuals or in a small company.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Digital Imaging

Ian Hawkins and Judy Graham
Staples (Barrie View Drive)

Make sure that your shots are the best they can be and learn how to display them.
Point and Shot Digital Cameras are easy to use but there are things to remember when using them.

Come and see Ian and Judy demonstrate some basics of camera use.
They will also be showing us how to use digital frames.

Ian Hawkins is the Business Support Manager, 7 years with Staples and
Judy Graham is their Technology Consultant, 5 years with Staples.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011
6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Kozlov Shopping Centre - 400 Bayfield Street, Barrie (map)
Concourse Level - Unit C1/3 (Community Room) (mall floor plan)

Make Your Own Web Site

Paul Mather

Would you like to post stories, family history, pictures and are you fed up with the restrictions and security issues of Social Networking sites. Do you have a home business that you would like to promote, without a big expense?

You need a web site!

If you ask most people about building their own website, their response would often be, “I just wouldn’t know where to begin!”

Why is the idea of making a website so daunting? Maybe you just need a little help getting started!

The Barrie technology Users’ Group (BUG) is the place to turn to! Being a not-for-profit organization, BUG wants you to learn and not push expensive products. Let us show you how easy it is to use the web to your advantage!

In this 3 hour workshop our webmaster, Paul Mather, will walk you through the creation of a website.
Participants will be asked to bring their own notebook or net-book computer that can connect wirelessly to the internet.

Everyone will walk out with their website well on the way and with ideas on where to go next.

So how much does all this cost?

BUG members: $25 Non-members: $50

Why limit your education on technology to only 3 hours. Membership in BUG is only $50 per year and we have 2 meetings a month! That’s over 48 hours of training on all sorts of technology questions ... just over $1 per hour...

WHAT A DEAL!

For more information and booking please contact us soon. Space is limited.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Kozlov Shopping Centre - 400 Bayfield Street, Barrie (map)

Busting the Myth
There is no way to upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7!

Sean Kearney

In this fun and interactive session you will find out about different ways to convert a 32-bit Windows XP-based machine to Windows 7 (either 32-bit or 64-bit), keeping user data and settings in place, while installing required applications, like Office 2010 and your own line-of-business programs, in the process.

Will these MYTHS be busted or is it true?

You will learn about different technologies to do this daunting task. Can it be done in 60 minutes? Come and find out in this session covering this important issue for many companies today.

Sean Kearney is a Network Administrator, Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist in Windows Server Virtualization, Configuration and Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer and overly enthusiastic member of the IT Community.

He is a devoted and passionate computer enthusiast from the early 80’s to the present day, having used just about every microcomputer ever. He is self-taught in computer programming with 65xx machine code, working with many technologies, but primarily Microsoft. He deals with “anything thrown at him” from gnawed keyboards to recovery of Exchange servers, to networking setups and isolating the realm of the unknown.

His present position has him testing and deploying just about any new Microsoft Technology he is asked to in addition to dealing with users in an Enterprise-Class environment. Before this, he spent over 8 years dealing with Small Business Systems and home user environments.

He absolutely loves Windows PowerShell, Windows 7 and Hyper-V in that specific order.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Kozlov Shopping Centre - 400 Bayfield Street, Barrie (map)

Servers for Home and Business

Axel Dittmann

 Are you interested in knowing what a home or small business server is and what it can do for you? Then come and attend our meeting and find out what these servers are all about. We will provide a briefing on common uses for a home and small business server and explore its typical uses via a live demo. We will look at some common options available from reasonably inexpensive server appliances to DIY options consisting of recycled computers and open source software options. Some of the many functions we will look at include file server, automated backup server, web server and media server services. The first half of this session will introduce server concepts and basics and after a short break we will demonstrate a popular and inexpensive home server.

Axel Dittman, Executive Consultant, Client Architecture at CGI, has over 20 years of experience in the management of corporate Information Technology. We are very fortunate to have Axel share this experience in a manner that will help us as individuals or in a small company.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Kozlov Shopping Centre - 400 Bayfield Street, Barrie (map)
Concourse Level - Unit C1/3 (Community Room) (mall floor plan)

Let's USE the Internet

Paul Mather

 We spend a lot of time on the internet. Paul will show us how to make use of the internet, whether it is for research, sharing photos, stories or locating media and software.

We will also be having our annual elections for the executive, so we encourage all members to attend.

Saturday, June 11, 2011
Kozlov Shopping Centre - 400 Bayfield Street, Barrie (map)
Concourse Level - Unit C1/3 (Community Room) (mall floor plan)

Virtual Machines
Install Multiple Operating Systems Workshop
PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED

In a workshop format Axel will be showing us how to install and use Virtual Box.

A totally different approach to hosting multiple environments on a single PC is to run some of them within virtual machines (VMs). VMs provide a way for a computer to simulate a complete hardware environment within software. While running one operating system, you can fire up a VM just as if it were another application, but the VM can host its own operating system that thinks it's running on its own real computer.

Axel Dittman, Executive Consultant, Client Architecture at CGI, has over 20 years of experience in the management of corporate Information Technology. We are very fortunate to have Axel share this experience in a manner that will help us as individuals or in a small company.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Kozlov Shopping Centre - 400 Bayfield Street, Barrie (map)
Concourse Level - Unit C1/3 (Community Room) (mall floor plan)

Tablet Computers

Ian Hawkins

Only a short time ago tablets were science fiction.
With the introduction of several new models of tablets, comes the reality.

What are their features?
How are they different?
What is best for you?

Ian Hawkins of Staples will show us several models of Staples, pointing out their strengths.
Ask questions that will help you determine whether they are right for you or not, before going to the store.

MEETINGS FROM PREVIOUS YEARS

2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003

Pictures of Past Meetings