Wgtn meeting, Wed. 21 Dec 2011

It's Christmas Party time again and the final meeting for the year. Roger will not be with us as he is currently holidaying in Borneo. That includes mountain-climbing, we have been led to believe. Richard will be bringing in a cake and there will be other goodies as well as non-alcoholic drinks on offer.

In addition, Jim Oliver will discuss video compression, a topic with which he is highly conversant. That will involve analysing a number of codecs to show the detail that can get lost as the degree of compression is imcreased. This is an excellent opportunity to learn all there is to know about this subject.

All in all, this will be an exciting evening so please make an effort to attend.

Wgtn meeting, Wed. 16 Nov., 2011

This will be another "brains trust" evening with Roger at the helm.

If you have any problems you'd like solved make sure you attend this meeting and have the experts help you out.

Hutt SIG Meeting, Monday November 14, 2011

Tonight's topic is file storage and backup. And there might be popcorn.

Home networking, file storage options. Demo of a QNAP 4-bay NAS, including its management interface and some of its different capabilities as they relate to the home environment (iTunes server, DLNA streaming, bittorrent downloading, etc). These are very capable devices that can replace some of the functions that might normally be performed by a desktop or other PC.

Demo of Microsoft SyncToy used as backup software. Part of managing large file collections is backing them up; I can demo the NAS' built in capabilities but of more general interest to everybody, Microsoft SyncToy is the easiest way to back up files by far.

Decide on a topic for the December meeting - so bring your ideas!

Everybody welcome!

This meeting will be held in Eastbourne, contact robin@hindesite.co.nz for details.

Wgtn meeting, Wed. 19 October 2011

Roger will discuss proxy servers; what they are and when it could be advantageous to use them.
If you know little or nothing about them, come along to the meeting and have it fully explained so you will be much the wiser.

Wgtn meeting, 21 Sept 2011

After the cancellation of last month's meeting, Arthur Harris will discuss TV reception via a PC and the recording of such signals to one's hard drive or removeable media.

This should be a most interesting evening so make sure you attend.

Hutt SIG Meeting, Monday September 12, 2011

Due to the subject to be discussed, this meeting has been relocated to Eastbourne. The main topics are related to home networking and HTPC (Home Theatre PC) options and are likely to include:

• an extremely small computer, running the latest version of XBMC Media Center, (and also, if there is any interest, Ubuntu 11.10 alpha)
• an A C Ryan media player
  
• networked storage (a 4-bay QNAP NAS)
• Orcon's Genius product
• Android tablet, 1080p output
  
• other home networking equipment, issues.

The main emphasis will probably be on the XBMC box - which really is amazing - but other topics could be covered depending on interest.

As well as any of the above, it would be a good opportunity for others to bring hardware, software or content that really needs HD to be useful - for example, hardware that only has DVI or HDMI outputs and thus cannot be connected to the NZPCA projector.

Tea or coffee and biscuits and maybe popcorn will be provided. No rugby.

If you haven't been contacted through the mailing list, please email or call for details. Everybody is welcome.

Wgtn Meeting, Wed. 17 Aug. 2011

Due to the very inclement weather at present and the forecast for more snow tomorrow, it has been decided to cancel the monthly meeting at St Giles.

Arthur's talk will now take place on the 21 September.

The regular hardware SIG workshop meeting planned for tomorrow has also been cancelled for the same reason.

Wgtn meeting, Wed. 17 August, 2011

Arthur Harris will talk about fitting a TV card into a PC and what can be done with the card, besides simply watching programs on the computer.

If you've often thought this might be a good idea, now is the time to find out how it's done by attending the meeting at St Giles this coming Wednesday.

Wgtn meeting, Wed., 20 July 2011

I don't know where the year has gone, but it's A.G.M. time again!

In case you are hesitant about attending the meeting in case you think you might be nominated for committee duties, you may be assured that the present committee members are happy to stand again for another year.

In addition John Thomson will talk about current technology and what the future might have in store.

Hutt SIG meeting, Monday June 12 2011

Tonight's topic will mainly cover Android in some depth. This is a fairly new and game-changing OS, and will almost certainly be appearing on a phone, TV or other device near you. Android is a major factor in the flood of cheap mobile computing devices and phones from China.

Come along and see what Android's capabilities and limitations are. Other subjects are likely to be covered in passing. And there will be some videos, too.

See you there!

Wgton meeting, Wed. 15 June, 2011

Roger, Richard and Alan Royal will discuss PDF creators and compare a number of freeware and shareware offerings.

MS Word documents and other sources can be converted into excellent PDF graphics files without spending big money on programs like Adobe Acrobat.

Come along to St Giles and see what's available as either free or low-cost software. It might include the very program you're after!

Wgtn meeting, Wed. 18 May, 2011

At the next meeting at St Giles, Roger is going to discuss both ways of formatting MS Word documents and the writing of formulas for Excel spreadsheets, so if you are having difficulties in either of these areas, this meeting could well answer many of your problems.

Don't miss the opportunity!

Wgtn meeting, Wed, 20 Apr, 2011

NZPCA member Hugh Roberton will talk about his computing experiences over the years; his successes and the times when things could have perhaps gone a little more smoothly. Hugh has had a great deal of computer experience, both privately and in a business capacity, so this presentation promises to be both informative and entertaining. Do make sure this coming Wednesday is free so that you can attend this meeting at St Giles.

Hardware SIG. Saturday meeting.

The next Hardware SIG's Saturday meeting will be the 2nd April 2011 starting at 2.00 pm.

All welcome.

Hardware SIG

The next Hardware SIG meeting is on Wednesday 30th March 2011. Starts at 11.00 am
All members are welcome.

Learn how to fix your own computer or just browse the Web on the clubs computers

Wgton meeting, Wed. 16 March, 2011

Alan Royal will demonstrate his latest Google Android "toys": a smart phone and a pad. For those members who either own or are interested in the Apple iPhone or iPad, here is an opportunity to find out if they have made the right choice.

Wgton meeting, 16 Feb 2011

John Heard, from CityLink, has agreed to come and talk to us next Wednesday about his organisation: how it started, what its current function is and its plans for the future.

It was my idea initially to approach CityLink to see if someone would come and talk to us as I know very little about it, and I imagine there are other members who are similarly unaware of precisely what it does.

This is your chance to find out at St Giles next Wednesday so make a note about the meeting in your diary.