High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For February 4, 2010

The meeting was called to order by President Don Bennett.  Don welcomed guests and new members.  Don announced that since we switched to Center State Bank this month, they gave us ‘goodie bags’ to hand out to everyone.

Sue Gaddone read the secretary’s report which was approved as read and seconded by Gary Koster and Erika Niegowski.

Bev Bogart read the Treasurer’s report which was approved as read and seconded by Les Cole and Don Weston.

Don mentioned our new treasurer, Bev Bogart, whom he had forgotten last month; and a reminder, that dues are due, $16 includes a free coupon for a SIG class, and otherwise the classes are $3.00 for members and $6 for non members.

We still have calendars for sale for $10.00; $5.00 goes to our club and $5.00 to a Haitian fund.

We have a printer and scanner free, and a battery for a Kodak camera, as well as other things on the stage.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:05 to be followed by a Web Cam demonstration.

On most laptops, the web cam is built in and the camera has a microphone and speaker.  You also need software from Skype, or Yahoo (instant Messenger) or AOL (Instant messenger)

The webcams can be used as a phone:  Skype to Skype is free.  In all cases, both parties must have the same software.

There are fun applications to make your picture look different – like an Avatar or an animal which takes on your mouth and eyes

Respectfully submitted,

Sue Gaddone, Secretary

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For January 7, 2010

The meeting was called to order by President Don Bennett.  Don welcomed guests and new members.

Sue read the minutes of the December meeting, they were approved as read by Jim Burke and seconded by Jean Strand.

The treasurer’s report was read by Evette Sapirman and approved with a motion by Erika Niegowski and seconded by George Deragon.

Don congratulated the new officers, Jack Schreiber, Vice Pres., Dick McQuillen, 2^nd Vice pres., and Sue Gaddone, Secretary.  He also thanked Herb and Evette Sapirman for 5 years of service, and Don Weston for 10 years!  Our Web Master Ben Skversky, Eleanor Weston, Gary Koster and Don Weston were all recognized for their help.

Dues are due, $16 paid in the first 3 months will get you a free coupon to a SIG class. 

Jan 20^th is the deadline for the photo contest.  We still have calendars for sale showing the past three years winners.  Please support these sales.

We are changing banks from MidFlorida to Center State Bank in order to receive Free Checking.

We have 5 subscriptions to Smart Computing Magazine to give out as door prizes in the next few months.

During Q & A, some are having trouble with their internet – go to internet explorer > tools>manage add-ons to disable things you don’t want.

Also, Facebook is really dangerous, try not to get involved.

A motion to adjourn was made by Frank Reiter and seconded by Rose Kenney.

Our guest speaker was Demian McKibben from Staples over at Posner Center.

He advised to check the privacy settings – changes have been made recently

New Flash Memory Video Cameras use a memory card for storage, cost about $120 and should be HD capable.  You will need a high speed memory card – it will be faster.  It isn’t as safe as video tape, so download to your PC and Backup.

Check the Microsoft website – they can tell if your PC can take the new Windows 7 upgrade.

You should run your antivirus scan EVERY day

You should rotate PASSWORDS every 90 days.

Respectfully submitted,

Sue Gaddone, Secretary

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For December 3, 2009

The meeting was called to order by President Don Weston.

Don welcomed guests and new members.

Sue read the minutes of the November meeting, they were approved as read by Jim Burke and seconded by Don Roell.

The Treasurer’s report was read and approved with a motion by Dick McQuillen and seconded by George Deragon

The slate of officers was presented; there were no objections from the floor, and the slate for 2010 was approved.  President: Don Bennett, 1^st VP: Jack Schreiber, 2^nd VP: Dick McQuillen, Sec.: Sue Gaddone, Treas.: Bev Bogart

SIG classes for December and part of January were presented; check the web site for updates.

Membership fees and class fees will be the same, $16 per year; Classes are $3 for members, $6 for non-members.  Coupons will be given at the January Meeting for those who pay their dues during the first quarter.

The Photo Contest Calendars are for sale at $12, the profits go to future prize money and party costs.

Get your entries in early for the 2010 Photo Contest, rules will be emailed to all residents and posted in the Communications Room.

A motion to adjourn was made by Herb Sapirman and seconded by Jim Burke.  Meeting was adjourned at 7:55.

Anthony Espinosa from Best Buy was the speaker, he demonstrated the new touch screen monitor for Windows 7.  There are 4 different Window 7 programs, Ultimate, Professional, and Home Premium and Basic, you can also run XP along with 7 and all your older software and peripherals will work.  You can upgrade from Basic to Ultimate for about $80.

Respectfully submitted,

Sue Gaddone, Secretary

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For November 5, 2009

The meeting was called to order by President Don Weston.

Don welcomed guests and new members.

Sue read the minutes of the October meeting, they were approved as read by Jim Burke and seconded by Les Cole.

The Treasurer’s report was read and was approved with a motion by Ginny Heller and seconded by Gary Koster

Don Weston gave a brief history of the computer club.  It began as Friends of the High Vista Website 9 years ago; the Webmaster was Don Myers whose concept was promoting High Vista property.  Don Bennett and Don Weston went to the Lake Henry, an established computer club, and then Eleanor and Don took one of their SIG classes.  The President of this club suggested joining FACUG (Florida Association of Computer Users Groups). Don and Don went to the next FACUG conference, gathered as much info as they could and reported back to High Vista group and then decided to join and follow their guide lines.  Frank Reiter and Gary Koster wrote the Bylaws and have made a few changes through the years.

Current changes to the Bylaws were read (handed out) and a discussion followed. We attained 51% of our membership present. Margie Langan moved the changes be approved, seconded by Erika Niegowski, the vote passed and the changes were approved.

Gary Koster of the nominating committee presented the slate of officers for 2010: Pres. Don Bennett, 1^st V.P Jack Schreiber, 2^nd V.P. Dick McQuillen, Secretary Sue Gaddone, Treasurer, Beverly Bogart.  There were no nominations from the floor Elections will be held at the December meeting.

The 4^th annual Photo Contest begins NOW!  Entries are $5 per entry; the photos can be submitted by email. Rules can be found on the Communications Bulletin Board.

2010 Photo Contest Calendars are now printed and ready for sale at $12 each.  Donations are to be applied to the Prize money and costs of Photo Contest. In the past 3 years we have given out $1800 in prizes.

There will be a SIG class on Picasa which now has face recognition.  You can name your pictures and then search all photos by face recognition.

A motion to adjourn was made by Gary Koster and seconded by Frank Reiter.  Meeting was adjourned at 8:10.

Don Bennett gave a presentation on Windows 7.  Go to Microsoft.com for help and how to find out if your computer is capable to run Windows 7.

Respectfully submitted,

Sue Gaddone, Secretary

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For October 1, 2009

President Don Weston welcomed everyone to the October monthly meeting.

Sue Gaddone read the minutes of the May meeting.  A motion to approve the minutes was made by Gary Koster and seconded by Herb Sapirman.  Minutes were approved, with a provision that bylaws changes will be presented and voted upon at the November monthly meeting.

Evette Sapirman read the Treasurers Report.  Bob McLean moved to approve and Dick McQuillen seconded the motion.  The report was approved as read.

Thank you to Don Roell, who collected the ink jet cartridges over the summer.  Gil and Peggy Ketler will take over during the winter months.  Money from the cartridges buys DVD movies to show at the monthly Saturday Night at the Movies.  Then they are donated to the High Vista Library.  Thanks to all who are supporting this program by dropping off your spent cartridges in the collection box in the Communications room.  Peggy announced that November 21^st at 5 pm will be a double feature and January 30^th also.

The topic of a community network was brought up and it was decided that present contracts with Brighthouse and Verizon would be compromised.

Yearly dues of $16.00 are payable at the January, February or March meetings.  At that time members will receive a coupon redeemable for one SIG Class.

Frank Reiter and Gary Koster were appointed as Nomination Committee for 2010 Officers.

The slate of Officers will be presented at the November meeting and will be voted upon at the December monthly meeting.  Installation of Officers will be at the January 2010 meeting.

Rules for the 4^th Annual Photo Contest will be announced at the November meeting.

2010 Photo Contest Calendars are printed and available for a $12.00 donation to support our club and prize money for the upcoming photo contest.  A sample was shown.  We need volunteers to sell calendars at Bingo, Coffee and Town Hall Meetings.

Tony Barrett moved that we adjourn, seconded by Dick McQuillen.  We adjourned the business part of the meeting at 8:00 pm.

Dick McQuillen presented some hints for computer safety:

        Wait for the Microsoft Security Essentials final program.  The beta version is still out.

        Computer Associates Security Suite makes your computer run slower.

        Outpost Pro is a paid for program and is best, but rather         complicated to use.

        Update your Anti-Malware weekly.

        Wireless Routers should be password protected.

        Web of Trust – Google WOT in search.  Very useful while surfing         the web.

        Malwarebytes.org and not .com – be careful to download the right         program.

        Web of Trust will show you what site is safe.

Dick Heitkemper presented his video program on Hot Air Ballooning over Lake Tahoe. (combining still photos with camcorder footage).

Respectfully submitted,

Sue Gaddone, Secretary

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For May 7, 2009

President Don Weston opened the meeting by welcoming everyone.  He welcomed a guest, Ed Shaut.

Sue Gaddone read the minutes of the April meeting.  Frank Reiter made a motion and Bill Langan seconded that the minutes be approved.  So moved and approved.

Herb Sapirman gave the treasurer’s report (a copy is attached).  The report was accepted by a motion from Eleanor Weston, seconded by Dick McQuillen.

SIG classes will not be held during the summer.  If 6 people want a class, The Weston’s will set it up on a Tuesday at 2PM or Thursday at 7PM.  Coupons for SIG classes will again be accepted in the fall.

Don Roell volunteered to take over the ink cartridge collection for the summer while the Ketler’s are away.

The Weston’s will run the movies during the summer months. Check your Calendars, Chanel 95 and Emails for dates and times.

Frank Reiter and Gary Koster (our By-Laws authors) will amend the by-laws so that a part time resident’s may hold office.  Don Roell so moved and Tony Barrett seconded, the motion was carried.

There was a brief question and answer period and the meeting adjourned at 8:10PM by a motion from Dick Heitkemper seconded by Marge Langan.

Don Weston presented a short version of Dick McQuillen’s Security Program.  We all need the following programs:

A Security Suite: Such as Computer Associates, Norton or AVG

Malwarebytes: Anti-Spyware and Malware as well as to scan files from CD’s, Flash-Drives and especially downloaded files from the internet.

WOT: – Web of Trust which warns about good sites and bad sites when browsing

Secunia PSI: Scans your computer and tells you if you need updates for your programs, then automatically goes on the internet to update.

Door Prizes were given out.

Respectfully submitted,

Sue Gaddone, Secretary

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For April 2, 2009

President Don Weston welcomed everyone to the April monthly meeting, and thanked Herb Sapirman for conducting the meeting while he and Eleanor were cruising the Caribbean.

Sue Gaddone read the minutes of the March meeting. A motion to approve the minutes was made by Marge Langan and seconded by Herb Sapirman. Minutes were approved.

Evette read the Treasurers Report, a copy is attached.  Bill Langan moved to approve and Dick Heitkemper seconded the motion. The report was approved.

The SIG calendar was shown on the screen. We hope people will step forward and volunteer to teach additional SIG classes.

Don Roell will collect the ink jet cartridges over the summer and Peggy Ketler will take over during the winter months. Money from the cartridges is used to purchase DVD movies to show on Saturdays and then donate them to the library.

Should we have a community network?  Probably not, Brighthouse, Verizon and Clearband wouldn’t appreciate the competition. Trailer parks can do their own ISP because they are for-profit organizations.

We should do a calendar with the photo contest winners as a community service and fund raiser– a sample was shown.  Don Weston will create this project.

We thank Don Bennett and Les Cole for last months Skype demonstration.

Dick Heitkemper moved that we adjourn, seconded by Frank Reiter. We adjourned at 8:00PM.

Our guest from Staples, Demian McKibben was introduced. Our new projector was purchased at Staples, it is High Def and very clear.

Mr. McKibben brought several door prizes with him and went on to explain some new innovations:

The new, smaller Notebooks are useful especially for traveling. 

Microsoft has slowed down on their new system; they’re staying with Vista for now.

Staples have a new touch-screen that is fun to try in the store.

They have low cost computers for less than $300; however they don’t have all the programs included.

There’s a Magic Jack that works through your computer for $40 a year for phone service, you must leave your computer on all the time. 

A Norton Ghost program duplicates the operating system and all files in a back-up drive.  Some new computers don’t come with back-up discs.

Lubricate your shredder blades with light oil.

Staples have a battery back-up called AVR ($60-80) and will regulate voltage during lightening strikes.

A Security Suite was suggested for complete protection against viruses, spyware and adware.

Wireless printers are good especially if you have a computer network in your home.

Respectfully submitted,

Sue Gaddone, Secretary

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For March 5, 2009

Vice President Herb Sapirman opened the meeting by welcoming everyone. He welcomed a new member, Doris Abramson and also welcomed guests Marie Ciaole and Bill Abramson.

Sue Gaddone read the minutes of the February meeting.

Evette Sapirman gave the treasurer's report (a copy is attached). The report was accepted by a motion from Bill Robinettet seconded by Paul Repke.

Upcoming SIG classes were mentioned, Basic Computing, Intro to Vista, How to protect your computer, Intro to Digital Photography, Basic Excel and Files and Folders.

Bill Abramson volunteered to take over the ink cartridge program, except tor the summer when he is away.

The question was raised: is it a problem to have $2800 in our  account? No we are non-profit and do not make any money. We use our money to buy equipment; we bought lap top and other necessities.

Our Wi-Fi. goes out as far as the pool and to near neighbors -- do we need anything stronger? Dick McQuillen said to hold off since new equipment was due to come out.

The "snow-birds" have to pay for two servers, should we consider a. community network?

There was a motion to adjourn by Frank. Reiter and seconded by Erika Neigowski. We adjourned at 7:40.

Don Bennett presented web cams using Skypc. You need a high-end web cam (about $79), plus a head set and a computer.  There are several software’s available, Skype. Yahoo. AOL instant messenger and Windows live messenger. The set up can also be used as a phone.

Respectfully submitted,

Sue Gaddone, Secretary

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For February 5, 2009

President Don Weston opened the meeting by welcoming everyone.  A special welcome was extended to all the guests this evening for the Photo Contest Judging.

We have a new member, welcome to Ramona Schroeder.

Sue Gaddone, secretary, read the minutes of the January meeting.  They were accepted as read in a motion by Herb Sapirman and seconded by Dick Neiman.

Evette Sapirman, Treasurer read the Treasurer’s report which was accepted as read in a motion by Frank Reiter, seconded by Gary Koster.

The Computer Club Website was shown with the photos of the Officers for 2009.

The SIG calendar for February was shown on the screen.  Of special interest is a class on web cams by Don Bennett using Skype which is a free download to talk to and see friends and grandchildren.  Other classes include Vista, Power Point and Email.

Tony Barrett has retired as of January from collecting ink jet cartridges – we need another volunteer.  Thank you to Tony for his great job.  The proceeds buy DVD’s for Saturday night movies and the Library.

Annual Dues of $16 are due for the Calendar Year of 2009.

The Photo Contest this year has expanded Prizes in each category, and emailing of the photos was allowed this year and turned out very successful.

There was a motion to adjourn by Don Roell, seconded by Jack Dunmyre.

The showing of the 95 photos submitted was followed by the ballot counting while refreshments were served. 

The winners are:         Nature:      1^st Prize $100.  Gary Koster

2^nd Prize    30.  Pat Stay

3^rd Prize     20.  Joanne Rogers

       Scenery:     1^st Prize $100.  Jack Pultz

2^nd Prize    30.  Marilyn Tobin

3^rd Prize     20.  Jack Pultz

    Humorous:     1^st Prize $100.  Sue Gaddone

2^nd Prize    30.  Phyllis Banner

3^rd Prize     20.  Debbie Favinger

People:      1^st Prize  $100.  Michele Geraci

2^nd Prize     30.  Michele Geraci

3^rd Prize     20.  Michele Geraci

Respectfully submitted,

Sue Gaddone, Secretary

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For January 8, 2009

President Don Weston opened the meeting by welcoming everyone to the January meeting of the High Vista Computer Club. All officers and chairpersons were introduced and acknowledged. He also acknowledged our guests, Chuck Dickman and Peggy Ketler.

We have new members tonight, Jan Walton and Bill Thumbeck.

Don introduced our guest speakers from Staples Office Supply from Posner Park, Ron Edwards and Tina.  (By the way, Posner is pronounced p – ah – sner according to Ron).

Sue read the minutes which were approved by a motion by Herb Sapirman and was seconded by Frank Reiter.

Evette read December’s Treasurer Report (copy attached).  It was approved by a motion by Gary Koster which was seconded by Les Cole.

The Computer Club Website showing the photos of the officers for 2009 was revealed on the screen, and they were thanked for all their help. The SIG Calendar was also projected on the screen. A request was made for more volunteers to step forward to teach the SIG classes, they will be helped to get started. Tony Barrett announced that January is his last month to collect empty printer cartridges. H.P., Lexmark and Dell are the only brands accepted, no refills please.

Regarding the Photo Contest, Les Cole demonstrated how the judging will work, there are more prizes available this year. The deadline is January 16, 2009, and Email Photo entries are permitted this year. Picasa 3 is a free program and has an easy method to put titles on your photos. 

Dues are still $16.00; please get your dues paid soon.

Erika Niegowski made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Dick Heitkemper.  The meeting was adjourned at 7:55.

Don Bennett introduced the Staples Representatives:

Ron Edwards, the Sales Manager, referred to a free PC security check-up.  He recommended Adaware as an excellent spy ware program. There is also a PC Tune-up for $14.99 – they will clean up the physical inside, defrag, and make recommendations to have your PC run faster. Services are available and offered for tech repairs.

Tina, who is in charge of the copy center, reported they will make photo prints in large sizes suitable for

framing. They make personal ‘social’ cards with your out-of-town information which can be given out to friends. They can make a rubber stamp in one hour. They also offer a calendar to be made with your photos online for only $9.99.

Respectfully submitted,

Sue Gaddone, Secretary

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For December 4, 2008

President Don Weston opened the meeting by welcoming everyone to the December meeting of the High Vista Computer Club. All officers and chairpersons were introduced and acknowledged.

Don then proceeded to introduce our guest speaker for the night, Anthony Espinosa. Anthony heads up the Geek Squad that operates out of Best Buy, located at Posner Center.

Before turning the meeting over to our guest speaker, Don asked for the reading of the November minutes. In the absence of secretary, Sue Gaddone, minutes were read by Evette Sapirman, Don asked for additions or changes to the minutes. There were none. Jack Dunmyre made a motion to approve the minutes as read and seconded by Dick Heitkemper.

Evette proceeded to give the Treasurer’s report and was approved with a motion by Frank Reiter and seconded by Erica Niegowski.

Plans regarding installation of an “n” router have been shelved. Dick McQuillen reported that our “G” router is working fine and is researching faster router access.

December SIG class information was given by each of the class presenters:

    Herb Sapirman will offer Excel II at 2:00, December 9.

    Don Weston’s class on December 11 at 7:00 will be using Vista’s Movie Maker to work with movies, slides and music.

    December 18 at 2:00, Don Bennett will be discussing new uses for Vista Photo Gallery, limited editing, burning CDs and movies.

Don mentioned that “Open Office Suite” is compatible with Microsoft Office and can be found by searching on Google. Open Office Suite is a free program.

Membership dues for the year 2009 are now being collected.  Each paid membership is entitled to one SIG class free of charge throughout the 2009 year.

Don thanked Gary Koster and the Nominating Committee for their new slate of officers.  It is as follows:

   President, Don Weston
   1^st Vice President, Herb Sapirman
   2^nd Vice President, Don Bennett
   Secretary, Sue Gaddone
   Treasurer, Evette Sapirman.

Jim Burke asked that the slate be accepted as proposed by Frank Cornelius and 2^nd by Rose Kenney.

A request that the meeting be adjourned was made by Frank Cornelius and seconded by Gary Koster.

Don again introduced Tony Espinosa from Best Buy’s Geek Squad, who gave an outstanding presentation and answered many questions from the audience. He provided 10 Best Buy gift certificates for door prizes.

Respectfully submitted By: Nancy J. Tomasic

for Sue Gaddone, Secretary

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For November 6, 2008

        The meeting was called to order by President Don Weston.

        Don welcomed guests Evelyn Herring,  Patt Wilkinson,  Ginny Zietz  and Peggy Ketler.

        Officers were introduced, Herb Sapirman, 1^st Vice President, (Absent) Don Bennett, 2^nd Vice President, Secretary, Sue Gaddone, Treasurer Evette Sapirman (absent).  Also acknowledged were Eleanor Weston, Membership chairperson, Ben Skversky, Webmaster of the Computer Club Website and the HOA Website, Gary Koster, SIG Class Scheduler, Dick McQuillen CC’s PC Equipment Mgr, Gil & Peggy Ketler, in charge of Monthly Movies and Tony Barrett, Ink Cartridge Collections.

        Sue read the minutes of the October meeting, they were approved as read by Frank Reiter and seconded by Les Cole

        Don Weston read the Treasurer’s report which was approved with a motion by Jack Dunmyre and seconded by Dick Heitkemper

        Check our Web site:  http://www.highvistacc.org  for future SIG classes. 

         Check the HOA web site for “event” slide show, the first one will be Halloween at our club house:  http://www.highvistahoa.org

        Regarding Open Internet Access and the “n” router, plans have been temporarily shelved due to further investigation of the proper router.  Dick McQuillen is researching this project.  Our present “G” router is working fine with open access.

        Microsoft Student Office Suite is for sale at NewEgg.com with free shipping, for $89.95. The suite includes Excel, Word and Power Point.

Check out the new rules for the Photo Contest on the Computer Club web site, there will be 3 prizes in each category and you can email your photos to Eleanor Weston:  deweston@tampabay.rr.com    Please don’t wait till the very end to enter.

A Power Point show of some of some of the 2007 and 2008 contest winners was presented.

Don Bennett demonstrated the Picasa program from Google.  It is a free photo program that will enable you to put titles on photos, as well as file and enhance all the photos stored on your computer.  The program will send your photos via email, although they will be too small for the photo contest, so go to “options” and change to “original size”.

According to Smart Computing Magazine, “Vista Anti Virus 2008” is a bogus program, do not buy!

Dick Heitkemper demonstrated our new High Def Camcorder with scenes from the Great Smokies and scenes from around High Vista.

Gary Koster is in charge of the Nominating Committee, a slate of officers will be presented at the Dec. meeting.

Les Cole reviewed the Photo Contest voting procedures.  Each person voting will have a 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd choices in each category.  1^st will be awarded 3 points, 2^nd, 2 points, and 3^rd, 1 point.  The points will be totaled for the winners.  Les will need 4 people to tally the votes.

Following a Q&A session, door prizes were awarded, and a motion for the meeting to adjourn was made by Frank Reiter and seconded by Dick McQuillen.

Meeting was adjourned at 8:55PM

Respectfully submitted,

Sue Gaddone, Secretary

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For October 2, 2008

        The meeting was called to order by President Don Weston.

        Don welcomed guests Evelyn Herring, Bob Reber, Barbara Dollar and Peggy Luff.

        We have three new members, Sally Wolff and Joanne and Gary Rogers – Welcome.

        Officers were introduced, Herb Sapirman, 1^st Vice President, Don Bennett, 2^nd Vice President (absent), Secretary, Sue Gaddone, Treasurer Evette Sapirman (absent).  Also acknowledged were Eleanor Weston, Membership chairperson, Ben Skversky, Webmaster of the Computer Club Website and the HOA Website, Gary Koster, SIG Class Scheduler, Dick McQuillen CC’s PC guru, Gil & Peggy Ketler, in charge of Monthly Movies and Tony Barrett, Ink Cartridge Collections.

        Sue read the minutes of the June meeting, they were approved as read by Frank Reiter and seconded by Erika Niegowski.

        Herb Sapirman read the Treasurer’s report which was approved with a motion by Les Cole and seconded by Gary Koster.  In addition, we have donated $400 for a high def camcorder and professional tripod.  The Chorus, the Off-Off Broadway players also contributed $400, as well as the Community Church.  This equipment can be used for recording our community events and for SIG classes.  Dick Heitkemper will work with anyone interested in learning to use this equipment and will do a demonstration at our November meeting.

        Tony Barrett is looking for a volunteer to take over the Ink Cartridge Collection, it’s an easy job, please contact Tony at home by phone.

        Check our Web site  www.highvistacc.org for future SIG classes.  Eleanor has Beginning E-mail 10/9 and Files and Folders on 10/14, and Don will do a Basic Photography course on 10/21.  Les Cole will present Vista for new users 10/23, Herb Sapirman  Excel Pt I 10/28, then in November, Les Cole MS Word 11/13 and on 12/9 Excel Pt II by Herb Sapirman.

        Don Weston and Les Cole plan to expand the prizes for the Photo Contest to be explained at our next meeting.

        Regarding Open Internet Access, there are plans to set up a “N” router with backwards “G” capabilities, giving our clubhouse a stronger and faster wireless signal.  (Waiting for Don Bennett to return and help with this project).

        If you want a copy of the E-Bay University CD that was played at this meeting about selling on E-bay,  give Don Weston your name and phone #.

        A motion to adjourn was made by Gary Koster and seconded by Frank Reiter.  Meeting was adjourned at 8:10.

Parts of the E-Bay CD were played.  The CD goes into great detail about how to photograph your items and figure out pricing, packaging and how to fill out the eBay on-line forms in order to present your items for sale.

Respectfully submitted,

Sue Gaddone, Secretary

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For June 5, 2008

The meeting was called to order by President Don Weston.

Don welcomed guests Joannne Rogers, Gary Rogers and Beverly Cammerata.

Sue Gaddone read the minutes which were approved as read.

Evette Sapirman read the Treasurers Report which was approved and accepted.

There will be no scheduled SIG classes for the summer months.  SIG classes can be arranged if you have 5-6 people and then put in a request to Don or Eleanor.

In order to use your laptop in the clubhouse there’s no longer a password needed. The router has been reconfigured to eliminate the password and allow open access. Instructions will be sent out over the internet and also will be introduced to all laptops here tonight.

VISTA is a problem for many people when they get a new computer.  Vista can be reset to be more like XP.  Dick McQuillen has worked out several methods.

User Account Control can be a problem.  To stop prompts, go to Run>MSConfig>OK>User Account Control>Tools>Disable UAC>OK

To get START to look like XP  go to Start>Properties>Customize>classic start

Other hints from Dick:  Antispyware is a bad site, will wipe out your machine

        Mcaffee Site Advisor is free – good to have

        Comodo is a 100% safe firewall – is free

        Noscript – a good program for safety if you do banking on line

        DON’T get Service Pac 3 – especially if you have H.P.

E-mail Dick (rdm4444@earthlink.net) for a PDF file of free websites that he recommends.

Dick also mentioned that Paypal has a new feature that will generate a one-time-use credit card (if you don’t want to use your own card) – is a good safety feature.

Dick Heitkemper has an Apple computer and presented making a DVD of photos with music using Apple VS PC.  He used ULEAD  for the PC “movie”, and then FINAL CUT with the Apple.  The Apple is more professional than the PC.

Following the presentation, Eleanor Weston was available for beginner questions, Herb Sapirman answered questions about Excel and Kurt Knuth was available for Genealogy questions and Don Weston for photography.

A Motion to adjourn was made by Kurt Knuth and seconded by Herb Sapirman.  Meeting adjourned at 8:40

Respectfully submitted,

Sue Gaddone, Secretary

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For May 1, 2008

The meeting was called to order by Don Weston, President. He welcomed all guests, Vickie Pasqualucci and Bill Langan; as well as new members, Gail Johnston, Nancy Mullen and Frank Kiernan. He also introduced the officers of the club: Herb Sapirman 1^st Vice President; Don Bennett 2^nd Vice President; Secretary Sue Gaddone; Treasurer, Evette Sapirman; Eleanor Weston, Welcome/Membership Chairperson; Ben Skversky, Webmaster of the Computer Club website and HOA website.

Don also acknowledged Gary Koster our SIG class scheduler: Dick McQuillen who keeps our equipment up and running as well as maintaining Channel 95; Gil and Peggy Ketler who are in charge of the monthly Saturday night movies and Tony Barrett who collects ink cartridges for the purchase of DVD’s, which are shown at the Saturday night movies, then donated to the Library.

Evette Sapirman read the minutes and Treasurer’s report of the April meeting. A motion to approve the minutes was made by Ann Kynast and seconded by Kurt Knuth.

Don gave a special thank you to our Computer Class Instructors: Kurt Knuth, Les Cole, Frank Cornelius, Herb Sapirman, Don Bennett, Dick McQuillen, Eleanor Weston and Don Weston. A plea for additional volunteer instructors was made. Don & Eleanor will be glad to assist anyone in getting started.

New Business:
A demonstration by Don Weston by rating of different fire walls published in a subscription called Windows Secrets as well as referencing a free online office suite that is compatible with Microsoft Office called Open office. The address www.openoffice.org is accessible through the internet and can be downloaded. This can be used to completely replace Microsoft Works.

A motion to adjourn was made by Eleanor Weston and seconded by Kurt Knuth.

Herb Sapirman gave an interesting presentation on “Games People Play”. He gave several websites and described how to play games online. He mentioned not only can you play games, but you can find sites for crossword puzzles and jig saw puzzles. Most of these sites are free but some may charge a fee.

Respectfully submitted,

Eleanor Weston

For Secretary Sue Gaddone

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For April 3, 2008

The meeting was called to order by President Don Weston.  He welcomed all guests and introduced the officers of the club: Herb Sapirman 1^st Vice Pres., Don Bennett 2^nd Vice Pres., Secretary, Sue Gaddone, and Treasurer, Evette Sapirman.

Also acknowledged were: Gary Koster, our SIG class scheduler; Dick McQuillen who keeps our equipment up and running; Gil and Peggy Ketler who are in charge of the monthly Saturday night movies and Tony Barrett who collects ink cartridges for the purchase of DVD’s which are donated to the Library.

Sue Gaddone read the minutes. The date of Best Buy’s opening was corrected to April 26^th and then the minutes were approved.

Don Weston read the Treasurers Report which was approved.

Sue also read the minutes of the Board of Director meeting on March 26, 2008.

It was noted that you can bring your old computers to Staples or the Office Depot for disposal, however, it’s important to destroy the hard drive first – hitting it with a hammer is most effective.  Bring your old cell phones to the Haines City Police Department where they can be used for only dialing 911.

Don Bennett gave a presentation on Office Home & Student 2007 by Microsoft which contains Word 2007, Excel, Power Point and One Note.  It runs on XP and Vista.  It costs between $100 and $150. It can be purchased for $79 for military; it can be used for up to

3 computers, you can have the old 2003 Office as well on your computer. Check Costco or on-line stores. 

Les Cole will be running the judging of the photo contest this fall. He presented his new voting system where photos can be ranked first, second and third. Tallying of the votes should be easier and give more photos a chance to win.

A motion to adjourn was made by Frank Reiter, seconded by Erika Niegowski.

Don Weston showed a slide show of his Hawaii vacation which included photos of his son’s ship, Hawaiian flowers, scenery, and a luau, with fade-outs and music using Movie Maker in Vista, how easy it was to make.

Respectfully submitted,

Sue Gaddone, Secretary

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For March 6, 2008

The meeting was called to order by Don Bennett at 7:35 PM.  Don Weston had just returned from Hawaii and was still ‘vacationing’.

The minutes of the January 31^st meeting were read by Sue Gaddone and approved by a motion by Dick Neimon and seconded by Gil Ketler.

The Treasurer’s report was given by Evette Sapirman and approved by a motion from Gary Koster and seconded by Jerry Campbell.

The up and coming SIG classes for March are Files and Folders 3/11, Paint shop Pro 3/20 and Picasa – Googles Photo Editing 3/25.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:45 p.m. following a motion from Herb Sapirman and seconded by Bill Robinette.

Our usual March speaker from Smart Computing could not be with us, so The Geek Squad from our new Best Buy Store at Posner Center gave a presentation.  The store will open on April 6^th.  Mike Pol, the Deputy Counter Intelligence Agent introduced Anthony Espinosa (manager), and agents John Jones, Kevin Blalock and Gary Raizer. All were dressed in the Geek uniform, black shoes, white sox, black trousers, ties and white shirts. The CIA’s (counter intelligence agents) will be at the counter when you arrive at the store, Special Agents make house calls in the Geekmobile.  You can find more information at www.geeksquad.com.   Mike Pol reviewed the services available at Best Buy, and touted their anti-virus and spyware program which is guaranteed by them.  He cautioned wireless users that it is very easy for hackers to access your computer from a nearby location and to be sure and purchase software to protect your computer.  He recommended that your computer be shut down completely at night, not just put into hibernation.

There were 3 door prizes of gift certificates to Best Buy and everyone attending the meeting received a GEEK tee shirt.

Respectfully submitted,

Sue Gaddone, Secretary

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For January 31, 2008

President, Don Weston welcomed the many guests this evening who attended to see and judge the photo contest pictures. Don also welcomed the following new members, Debbie Favinger, Marilyn Gray, Pat Engler, Laura Hughes, Robert Hughes and Rich Rooney.

The meeting was called to order at 7:30 PM by Don Weston, President. The officers for 2008 were introduced:  Herb Sapirman 1^st Vice President, Don Bennett 2^nd Vice President, Sue Gaddone, Secretary, and Evette Sapirman Treasurer.  Ben Skversky, Gary Koster, Dick McQuillen, Les Cole, Tony Barrett, Gil and Peggy Ketler, and Eleanor Weston were also recognized for their continuous help and support of club activities.

        Don Weston read the treasurer’s report on behalf of Evette Sapirman Treas.  A motion to accept the report was made by Frank Reiter and seconded by Jack Dunmyre.

        Sue Gaddone read the minutes of the January 10^th meeting; the minutes were approved as read.

        Don reminded the group about the March 8 and 9^th conference of the FACUG (Florida Association of Computer Users Group) that will take place in Zypher Hills.

        We have a new member, David Maris as of this meeting.

        The new projector has been installed with a sound system, it will be used to show the Super Bowl in High Definition this weekend; people should bring their own refreshments.

        The usual question and answer program was by-passed in order to get on with the Photo Contest judging.

        The meeting was adjourned at 7:45 following a motion by George Deragon and seconded by Rose Kenney.

The photo ballots were passed out along with a pencil. The photos were numbered and as Don showed the photos two times, people could make notes on their preferences.  They voted by circling their choice in each of the four categories, looking for good lighting, good composition, and good subject matter for the category.

        Coffee and cake was served while the votes were tallied.

The winners are:

NATURE             Gary Koster

SCENERY            Tie between Erica Johannessen and Les Cole

HUMOR              Jan Walton

PEOPLE              Dotti Zaleski

Respectfully submitted,

Sue Gaddone, Secretary

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For January 10, 2008

        The meeting of the High Vista Computer Club was called to order at 7:45 p.m. by Don Weston, President.  The officers for 2008 were introduced:  Herb Sapirman, 1^st Vice President, Don Bennett, 2^nd Vice President, Sue Gaddone, Secretary, Evette Sapirman, Treasurer.  Ben Skversky was introduced as the web-master, and appreciation was extended to Gary Koster, the SIG class scheduler.

        Don urged everyone to visit the Homeowner’s web site for all the current information that is also on Channel 95.  You can scroll through the events as quickly as you like on your computer.

        Sue Gaddone, Secretary, read the minutes of the December 6^th meeting.  A motion by Frank Reiter to approve the minutes as read. Was seconded by Gary Koster.  Evette Sapirman gave the Treasurer’s report (attached), a motion to accept the report was made by Paul Repke and seconded by Ginny Heller.

        Don reminded everyone to pay their dues of $16.00.  There is to be a FACUG (Florida Association of Computer Users Group) conference in Zypher- hills to which all are invited, go to FACUG.ORG for more information.  Some people from our club will probably be going.

        The Photo Contest entries must be entered by Jan 15^th, Eleanor Weston and Evette Sapirman are collecting the $5 entry fee and CD’s and they will stay after the Smokey Joe Show to receive any last minute applications.  We have approximately 40 photos and need a total of 80 for the contest to go as planned.

        Our new Toshiba laptop plays High Definition and is planned to be used for Super Bowl showing in the Clubhouse on the big screen with a USB attached TV tuner and also for HD DVD movies. We are not necessarily buying those DVD’s for our library for now.  Peggy Ketler is buying regular DVD movies to be shown on High Vista Computer Club sponsored Saturday night monthly movies in the Clubhouse, because most people can’t use the HD for now. The new laptop will also be used for teaching the Vista Operating System as well as a tool for future computer educational challenges.

        Our Clubhouse is a “hot spot” – the code is 10 “5’s” (put 5 in the pass code ten times)

        The January SIG (Special Interest Groups) classes were announced, Frank Cornelius gave a class on buying on E-Bay, it’s good to use Pay pal, and he gave out a good guide to use to sell things on E-Bay

Future January classes are:

        How to use a Web Cam – it can also be used as a phone

        Basic Computing- you only have to know how to turn the computer on

        Intro to Vista – for anyone planning on buying or has a new computer

        Digital Photography – how to size, send in e-mail, paper printing

All of the above classes are listed on the Computer Club web site.

        The meeting was adjourned at 8:08 p.m. following a motion by Les Cole, seconded by Jack Dunmyre.

After the meeting

Bill and Jackey Nevel gave an interesting pictorial travelogue of Bill’s trip to Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe with movies, photos of animals and scenery ending with spectacular rainbow views of Victoria Falls, the largest waterfall in the world.

Respectfully submitted,

Sue Gaddone, Secretary

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For December 6, 2007

        The meeting of the High Vista Computer Club was called to order at 7:30 PM.  Don Bennett, Second Vice President, conducted the meeting for Herb Sapirman, President, who is out of town.

Election of officers and setting up a web-cam video conference are the two subjects to be covered tonight.

A welcome was extended to new members Dick Dangler and Veronica Cook as well as guest, James Orbit.  Ginny Heller, acting for secretary Betty Barrett, read minutes from November 1, 2007.  A motion by Russ Merowitz to approve the minutes was seconded by Gary Koster.

Election of officers; nominations are:
Don Weston, President
Herb Sapirman, 1^st Vice President
Don Bennett, 2^nd Vice President
Sue Gaddone, Secretary
Evette Sapirman, Treasurer

Since, there were no nominations from the floor, Don called for a show of hands.  The nominations were then unanimously approved by the membership.  Don also added that Ben Skversky is doing an excellent job as our Club’s webmaster and will continue in that position.

Tuesday, December 11 at 2:00, Les Cole will be offering the last SIG class for this year.  Les gave a short talk on Power Point.  The class will be 1½ to 2 hours.  Computers can be brought to class.  At least 6 students per class are needed to avoid cancellation.  Five classes will be offered in January – subjects to be determined.  Member fee for each class is $3.  Eleanor Weston reminded us that when e-mailing reservations for classes, the e-mail should be sent to the instructor.

Don reminded us that membership dues of $16 will be due in January.  Members will receive a free class certificate upon payment.

A new Toshiba laptop computer was purchased by the club as per last month’s approval.

January 2008 meeting will be moved to Thursday January 10 because of holiday travel.

Member’s printer problem was discussed.

Motion to adjourn by Les Cole; Rose Kenney seconded the motion.

After meeting:

Don Weston covered the rules of the photo contest.  Photo should be saved on disc and submitted to Evette Sapirman, Eleanor Weston, or Betty Barrett.  Photos need to be classified by subject and submitted with $5 for each photo.  Prizes are $150 for each subject.  Judging will be held at February’s meeting.  Food and treats will be served.

Don Bennett and Don  Weston did  an interesting  presentation on web cam and Skypes software. Consensus is that Web cam is an excellent suggestion for a Holiday gift.

Door prize winners:  Ginny Heller - web cam
                                     Gary Koster won a subscription to Smart
                                     Computing Magazine.

Meeting concluded at approx 8:37.

Respectfully submitted,

Nancy J. Tomasic, Acting Secretary

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For November 1, 2007

The November meeting was brought to order by Vice-president Don Bennett at 8:30 PM after a very interesting talk on “Internet Security” by Melanie Wood from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. New member Jay Johnston was introduced.

Minutes of the October meeting were read by Secretary Betty Barrett. Moved to approve by Evette Sapirman. Seconded by Kurt Knuth.

Treasurer Evette Sapirman gave the financial report. Les Cole moved to approve. Seconded by Erica Nagowski.

Frank Cornelius announced candidates for officers of the Club.

President                   Don Weston

1st Vice-President       Herb Sapirman

2nd Vice-President      Don Bennett

Secretary                   Sue Gaddone

Treasurer                   Evette Sapirman

Webmaster                Ben Skversky

No candidates announced from the floor.

SIG classes were discussed. Several new ones were announced. More instructors are needed. From now on, 6 registered up students are needed for a class to be held. A free coupon for a SIG class will be given to every paid up member every year.

The 2^nd Annual Photo Contest was discussed. This is a fun contest to be judged by the community, not professionals. All entries are anonymous. A minimum of 80 entries is needed for the contest to be held.

Eleanor requested members to check the community signs announcing events. If the Computer Club meeting is not announced on the sign, please change the sign. It’s one of those little jobs all members can perform to help the Club.

Due to Budget considerations, monthly door prizes will not be given in lieu of one larger prize each year.

Dick McQuillan recommended that people be very faithful about backing up data frequently. Many computers have been wiped by lightening this year and data was lost.

Office 2007 – Student Home Edition is available for $109 - $149 and can be installed on up to 3 PC’s.

AOL interface is available free. It is a good way to run your e-mail as you can reach your address book. It does present a problem is you are a guest on someone else’s PC.

Don Bennett explained the need for a new laptop computer with Vista to use for teaching classes. He asked for a show of hands to vote on spending about $1500 for this purchase. The members approved the purchase.

Next meeting will be on Dec 6, 2007 and Don Bennett will demonstrate using a Webcam.

Frank Cornelius moved to close the meeting at 9:05. Seconded by Les Cole.

Respectfully submitted,

Betty Barrett, Secretary

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For October 4, 2007

The meeting was called to order by president, Herb Sapirman, at 7:33 PM. He welcomed guests Will Bradley and Ray & Connie Philion.

Secretary, Betty Barrett, read minutes of the September meeting. There was a correction by Herb Sapirman to change the word Virtually to Visually. Moved to approve by Frank Reiter and seconded by Gary Koster.

Treasurer, Evette Sapirman, read the financial report and noted that since October 2006, the Club has received $893 from the cartridge program and spent $580.56 on DVD’s for the Library. Moved to approve by Jack Schreiber and seconded by George Deragon.

Gary Koster is looking for more SIG class instructors to serve between November and March. Instructors receive $25 per class. Eleanor Weston also appealed for more instructors and requested people to sign their names to their reservations for a SIG Class reservations are important for the class to be held and proper amounts of handouts to be made. Classes are now open to all residents for $6 fee. Members pay $3. One coupon per year is issued to members in good standing that entitles them to a free SIG class.

Don Weston gave the rules for the 2008 Photo Contest. (See attached). Don also discussed some new equipment that is being purchased for viewing movies and the photo contest entries.

 Herb Sapirman mentioned Ohdontforget.com offers a free reminder program. Put in your cell phone number, date, text message. On the proper date, a text message reminder will be displayed on your cell phone. Pat Stoika said msn.com also has a free reminder program. Gethuman.com will help get a real person on the phone.

Herb asked people to fill out some small forms that were passed out with ideas for classes, programs, or help that members may need.

Volunteers are needed for helping with many club chores. Eleanor could use help filing nametags.  Program suggestions would be appreciated. Suggestions or volunteers for candidates for club officers would be appreciated. A 1^st vice-president and a secretary will be needed for sure.

Surge protectors for computers should have phone protection as well. Good serge protector companies often offer financial compensation if your computer is damaged and has their protector on it. UPC is one reputable company.

Three door prizes were awarded. Herb announced the Nov. 1 meeting will feature a presentation on Internet Security by the Polk County Sheriff’s Dept.

Moved to adjourn at 8:22 by Frank Reiter, seconded by Manny Ostrofsky.

Respectfully submitted,

Betty Barrett, Secretary

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For September 6, 2007

Meeting was called to order by president Herb Sapirman at 7:33 PM. Visitor Russ Merowitz was welcomed.

Minutes of the May meeting were read by Secretary Betty Barrett. Minutes were moved to approve by Frank Reiter and seconded by Dick McQuillen.

The financial report was given by Treasurer Evette Sapirman. Moved to approve by Frank Reiter and seconded by Gary Koster.

Herb Sapirman appealed for more SIG class instructors that could offer more variety in classes. Instructors are able to suggest their own area of expertise for a class. Currently, instructors are paid $25 for each class. Members pay only $3 for each class. This year non-members will be accepted for classes but their fees will be $6. Three registrations must be received by e-mail for a class to be held. Walk-ins are welcome but it is wise to register so the class can be held. Gary Koster noted that the responses for the class must be sent to the instructor, not the computer club website. Coupons were distributed to paid up members good until the end of the year. Each coupon can be used for one free class. In January, new coupons will be given when dues are paid.

Don Weston gave a power point presentation of the classes that could be possible if instructors are found. Jack Pultz suggested that the class on Christmas Letters also include a lesson on labels for envelopes. Don Bennett will offer classes on Vista and Picassa. Don Weston has a CD-ROM about E-Bay that has a great deal of information on how to proceed with this auction site. He will see that it is shown but would like someone who is familiar with it to give a class along with the CD. Don Weston stated that many of these subjects are discussed in club meetings but the classes offer more in-depth information.

Classes and Dates were listed.

9/11 – 2 PM – Eleanor will offer a class for Beginners.

9/25 – 2 PM – Photography – Don Weston

9/27 – 7 PM – E-Mail using Outlook Express and AOL, Eleanor Weston & Herb Sapirman instructing.

Other dates will be filled as instructors become available.

Dick Heitkemper is interested in offering some classes but will have very small groups in his home, as he is unavailable for our scheduled dates at the clubhouse. He will work this out with Gary Koster.

“Teach Yourself Virtually” Books will be available for instructors. If not in use, members will be allowed to borrow these books for a short time to determine if they would like to own it.  These books are available through Barnes and Noble and Amazon.com.

Don Weston reviewed the photos from the 2007 Photography Contest and gave the rules for the 2008 Photography Contest.

Entrant must be a High Vista resident and have personally taken the photo. If the entrant is in the photo, a timer must have been used.

Categories will be Scenery, Nature, People, and Humorous. The entrant will decide which category suits their photos.

Only photos entered must be submitted on a CD or DVD or even a 3-½ floppy in .jpg or .tiff format. No other photos except the entries should be on the disk. Titles are allowed but must be put on photo by entrant.

A hard copy 4 x 6 photo and $5 must be submitted with each entry. Any number of entries may be submitted but each will have a $5 fee and require a hard copy photo for record keeping.

Herb Sapirman encouraged members to talk about some of their favorite websites. Mentioned were jigzone.com (a jig saw puzzle site), hardtofind800numbers.com, mediamonkey.com (a site to help organize music on your computer), howstuffworks.com, secunia.com (a free online software inspector that updates programs that are prone to hacking, i.e. acrobat reader, quick click, and others)

Members are encouraged to bring computer related items to meetings to sell or give away. A laptop computer bag was available free to a good home.

When ordering a subscription to some of the computer magazines, please use the appropriate code to give credit to our computer club. For every five subscriptions accredited to our club, we receive one free subscription that is given as a door prize. Our codes are:

Smart Computing #11628

PC Today            #468

CPU                   #264

Three door prizes were given and the meeting was to be followed by a roundtable discussion.

At 8:25, Frank Reiter moved to close the meeting, seconded by Gary Koster. The next meeting will be Thursday, Oct 4, 2007 at 7 PM in the Clubhouse.

Respectfully submitted,

Betty Barrett, Secretary

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For May 3, 2007

The meeting was called to order by President Herb Sapirman at 7:38. Herb welcomed a guest, Jack Flannery.

Minutes of the April meeting were read by Secretary Betty Barrett. Moved to approve by Frank Reiter, seconded by Dick McQuillen. Approved as read.

Treasurer’s report was read by Treasurer Evette Sapirman and approved as read. Gil & Peggy Ketler were thanked for showing the double feature movies and their good idea of selling hotdogs, which added funds to our treasury. The Weston’s will show the monthly movie during the Keller’s absence. The May movie will be The Holiday.

It was announced that two dates were open if anyone is interested in giving a SIG class. Dates are May 10 at 7 PM and May 15 at 2 PM. Anyone interested in instructing should contact Gary Koster.

It was noted that SIG classes have not been well attended this year. Hopefully, the new policy of allowing non-members to attend for $6 will help. Other changes are being made to inject interest.

Don Weston asked for suggestions for categories for the 2^nd Annual Photo Contest. He mentioned the four categories he has planned: People, Humor, Nature, and Scenery. Two suggestions were pets and sports. The entry fee will remain at $5 per photo. Multiple submissions are permitted and multiple photos are allowed on one disk. Each photo must be submitted in jpeg format accompanied by a hard copy of the photo for record keeping. The person submitting it must take the photo them self and they may have a title but the person submitting it must put the title on the photo them self. Don will give a class in the fall to teach people how to do this. There will be a prize for each category. The prizes will be determined at a Board Meeting. The Board will also discuss how to extend opportunities for submissions beyond Coffee and meetings.

Don Weston and Herb Sapirman demonstrated some of their favorite websites.

New Business: Kurt Knuth asked if anyone has any knowledge about the new photo compression product Microsoft is introducing. There was also some discussion on new camcorders that use flash cards. It was noted that using a Gold or Platinum credit card for payment doubles the manufacturer’s warranty.

Herb announced the Club would not hold meetings over the summer. The next meeting will be announced. Frank Reiter moved to adjourn at 8:28. Seconded by Don Weston. Following the meeting, door prizes were awarded to the holders of the winning tickets.

Respectfully submitted,

Betty Barrett, Secretary

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For April 5, 2007

Meeting was called to order at 7:35 by the president, Herb Sapirman. There were no guests or new members.

Secretary Betty Barrett read the minutes of the March meeting. Moved to approve by Frank Reiter, seconded by Gary Koster. Approved as read.

Treasurer Evette Sapirman gave the financial report. Moved to approve by Gary Koster, seconded by Frank Reiter. Approved as read.

There was some free equipment offered by Kurt Knuth on the stage. People were encouraged to take it if they could use it. This will be a regular feature of the Computer Club. Equipment may be sold or given away. It must be tagged with your name, the price, or if free. Equipment must be removed at the end of the meeting.

Herb Sapirman announced that the Computer Club Board of Directors is trying out a new policy to encourage SIG classes. Starting in September, renewing or new members will be given a coupon free for one SIG class that calendar year. Also, SIG classes will be open to non-members for a $6 fee, but will remain at $3 for members in good standing. A brief preview of the upcoming classes will be given at each meeting. The April SIG classes were announced and previewed.

Herb encouraged members to announce websites they particularly enjoy at computer club meetings. He offered several sites that are informative and enjoyable.

www.windowsvistatestdrive.com to check out Vista features. There is also an upgrade advisor feature that will inform you of what upgrades your computer would require for Vista at www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista.

www.Komando.com run by Kim Komando. It offers a newsletter and “cool site of the day” feature.

Another good website suggested is www.Buy.com for purchases.

There will be a 2^nd Annual Computer Club Photo contest next year. Don Weston is chairman and he will be offering classes that might be helpful for people entering the photo contest.

The next meeting will be May 3, 2007.

Meeting was closed at 7:55. Moved by Don Bennett and seconded by Kurt Knuth.

A very entertaining and informative program about Vista followed the meeting, presented by Troy Wells from Computer Plus. Mr. Wells gave a number of very nice door prizes.

Respectfully submitted,

Betty Barrett, Secretary

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For March 1, 2007

The meeting was called to order by Vice-President Don Bennett at 7:33 Pm. Don welcomed new members Janice Dunn, Don Roos, Dee Singh, and Judi Stevens.

Secretary Betty Barrett read the minutes of the February Meeting and the Treasurer’s Report ass prepared by Evette Sapirman, Treasurer. Frank Reiter moved to approve, seconded by Ginny Heller.

Don Bennett mentioned that members were welcome to bring equipment or programs to sell at meetings. It must be tagged with your name and the price. If giving it away, tag needs to state this. All items must be removed at the end of the meeting.

A review of March and April classes was displayed on the website. Classes are available to members for $3. March 29 class will be Advanced Microsoft Word given by Les Cole. New instructors were solicited. There will be an April class on the new Vista program. Les suggested that we consider allowing residents to try one class before becoming members. This may help to generate new interest in the Club.

The Ketlers have been offering Saturday night movies twice a month, some double features. They are well attended. Free popcorn and $1 hotdogs have been offered. The movies are purchased with money from recycling ink jet cartridges. After viewing, the movies are donated to the High Vista library.

Members were reminded to renew their 60 or 90 day programs; otherwise they will slowly quit working properly.

A member stated he forgot to renew his virus protection and was infected with a Trojan horse,

Jack Pultz has free anti-virus from his Tampa Road runner ISP and highly recommends it.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:52, moved by Frank Reiter and seconded by Gary Koster. .The meeting was followed by an interesting presentation by Smart Computing. Smart Computing gave every attendee a “goodie” packet containing the April issue and also provided door prizes.

Respectfully submitted,

Betty Barrett, Secretary

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For February 1, 2007

The meeting was called to order by president Herb Sapirman at 7:32 PM. New Member Wilma Nesinger and Guests Barbara Schiffler and Janet Boner were welcomed.

Secretary Betty Barrett read the minutes of the January meeting. Jack Dunmyre moved to approve, seconded by Erica Niegowski...

Treasurer Evette Sapirman gave the financial report. (See attached). Manny Ostrofsky moved to approve, seconded by Paul Repke.

Herb Sapirman thanked everyone involved with the Photo Contest. He stated that much was learned from this year’s contest that will be applied to the photo contest next year.

A review of the February SIG classes was given. Gary Koster asked if someone would like to offer a class on Feb. 22. He requested that anyone willing to share his or her knowledge would be appreciated as an instructor. Classes are listed on the computer club website. Members were urged to take advantage of classes. It is a nice benefit of belonging to the computer club.

Microsoft’s new program “Vista” is now available. Revisions will probably be made. Les Cole said that several versions are available but be careful of OEM. Vista also requires a newer computer that is capable of handling Vista. It will overwhelm older equipment. An expert on Vista may be at the April meeting and it is hoped he can answer questions regarding hardware. At this time, you can download a program from Microsoft that will evaluate your computer to see if it has enough power.

Herb Sapirman reported that the committee involved in finding space for an enlarged fitness center has dropped the idea of using the card room. A petition had been passed in December regarding this project.

Herb brought up a new idea that will be tried for the next few months. Anyone with equipment or programs to sell or give away is invited to bring their items to the meetings and put them on the stage with the sellers name and the price on the item. The items must be removed at the end of the meeting.

There was a suggestion that the Computer Club offer a lending library of programs loaned by members. They could be listed on the website. Herb thought it was a good idea but it needs a coordinator.

Herb suggested that members make better use of the “Help Desk” on the computer club website. There is a list of members who have offered to provide assistance in their area of expertise. This very helpful service can always use more members who can provide help when needed.

Gil Ketler’s idea of a double feature movie with a hot dog break was very well received. The attendance was good and people had a very enjoyable evening. Gil was thanked.

The FACUG meeting will be held on Mar 2 – 4. Information regarding this meeting is available from Herb Sapirman. No officers are planning to attend.

The March meeting will feature a presentation by Smart Computing.

Door prizes were awarded to Erica Niegowski, Floyd Haff and Gary Koster. A motion to adjourn was made by Gary Koster at 8:01 PM and seconded by Les Cole.

The meeting was followed by roundtable discussions led by members. Dick Heitkemper led a roundtable on Videos, Don Weston – Digital Photography, Eleanor Weston – Basic Computing, Kurt Knuth –Excel, Dick McQuillen – Major Headaches.

Respectfully submitted,

Betty Barrett, Secretary

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For January 4, 2007

Meeting was called to order by president Herb Sapirman at 7:32 PM. New Members and guests were welcomed to this Fifth Anniversary Meeting of the Computer Club.

Minutes of the December meeting were read by Secretary Betty Barrett. Eleanor Weston corrected the name of new member Deni Jacobson who had been listed as Doris in the minutes. Frank Reiter moved to approve the minutes, seconded by Gary Koster.

Treasurer’s report was given by Evette Sapirman. See attached.

Herb thanked everyone involved with the photo contest, especially Don Weston who was the project creator and devoted so much time and energy to it.

Don Weston showed the photo submissions on the large screen twice, once with numbers and once without. Voters marked their ballots (see attached) and they were collected for tallying.

While the votes were being tallied, Don Weston gave a brief history of the Computer Club starting with it’s inception as “Friends of the High Vista Website”. New by-laws were written, a logo was produced and the motto “Members helping Members” was established. SIG classes were started and the club now offers 6 – 8 classes each month. Don mentioned that the Clubhouse is a hot spot and community members can use their laptops with no cost to them.

Don Bennett gave a brief commercial for the club discussing what we do in our meetings and on our website. He also talked about our Homeowners Association website. Brief tours of both websites were given.

Thumbnail sketches were given for the January and February computer club SIG classes which are listed on the website. Don introduced Gary Koster and Jack Schefik as the team that arranges the SIG classes. The fee for a SIG class has risen to $3 in order to help pay for the instructors.

Herb Sapirman said that Ben Skversky, our Webmaster, would like people to contact him if they are having any problem with the website so he can help them or correct the problem.

Herb introduced Tony Barrett who has been collecting the inkjet cartridges for recycling. Tony said about $1000 has been collected with this project and there is a potential for making more money by finding other communities or organizations who would be interested in their own inkjet project. The recycling company will pay our club $100 for each group we get to collect cartridges, plus a $25 bonus every time that group sends in a box. Tony is willing to speak to any group that might be interested.

Gil Kettler was introduced. DVD’s are purchased with the inkjet project money, shown at a Saturday night movie once a month, and then donated to the Library. Gil is going to offer double features starting at the end of January. Hot dogs with sauerkraut will be available for $1 and there will be free popcorn, a pleasant and inexpensive way to spend a Saturday night.

At 9:07, there was a break for refreshments – cake, coffee, iced tea, and cookies.

After refreshments, door prizes were given to Jim Burke, Tom Jeknavorian, and Liz Zellhoffer. Jean Hannes won the Grand Prize, donated by Suzi Grubb, of two nights at her condo in Daytona Beach.

Before announcing the photo contest winners, Herb Sapirman said he hoped all entrants had understood the photos were to be original, not from the Internet. The winners of the photo contest were:

Nature     – Gary Koster

People     – Jean Lombardi

Humorous – Tom Douglas (Subsequently, the prize money was declined by Tom as he didn’t understand the rules) and the second place winner, Tony Barrett, was awarded the prize.

Frank Reiter moved to adjourn at 9:42, seconded by Gary Koster.

Respectfully submitted,

Betty Barrett, Secretary

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For December 7, 2006

Meeting was called to order by president Herb Sapirman at 7:33 PM. Herb introduced guest, Joe Gadone and two new members, Steve and Doris Jacobson.

Secretary Betty Barrett read minutes of the November meeting. Frank Reiter moved to approve as read, seconded by Gary Koster.

Treasurer Evette Sapirman gave the financial report. (See attached). Frank Reiter moved to approve, seconded by Tony Barrett.

Gary Koster spoke on the need for instructors of SIG classes on Tuesday afternoons and Thursday evenings. Herb Sapirman noted that starting in January, in an effort to attract instructors, the Board of Directors has voted to offer a $25 stipend to instructors for each class.

Nominating Committee report was given by Gary Koster. All officers currently serving have offered to remain in their positions except Dick McQuillen whose work obligations make it impossible for him to serve. The 1st vice-president position requires a full-time resident. At the present time, the Nominating Committee was unable to secure a candidate for this position and it will remain open. The following officers were elected unanimously: President, Herb Sapirman, 2nd Vice-President, Don Bennett, Secretary, Betty Barrett, and Treasurer, Evette Sapirman.

Tony Barrett thanked the community for their participation in the cartridge recycling program and especially our corporate benefactor. It has provided about $950 for our club to use for the Library.

Herb Sapirman presented a petition that is circulating in the community in opposition to replacing the current card room with a fitness center. The plan to put the card room in the pub would make it difficult for the computer club to hold SIG classes. Members were encouraged to sign the petition after the meeting.

Les Cole wondered if anyone was having trouble installing Turbo Tax from the Internet.

Eleanor will hold a class on Envelopes and Files on Tues. Dec 12 at 2 PM.

Peggy Kettler had a problem with a computer monitor. It had an extended warranty and she found it had been recalled and would have been replaced free of charge. Dick McQuillen mentioned there is a laptop recall due to a power supply that can cause fires. It was also noted that it is important to send in warranty registration cards so companies can locate you in case of a recall.

To view the Resident Photo Gallery, you can go to highvistahoa.org Web Site, click on the link bar labeled Residents Gallery and then enter the password which is the same as the door code. You can also view the photos entered in the contest at the Computer Club web site highvistacc.org.

A program was given by Don Bennett on Preventive Maintenance for your PC. Don and Dick McQuillen distributed a very useful handout describing which chores are necessary and how often to schedule them. There are several programs that can assist with pc maintenance. One is a free program www.cccleansweep,com. Another program mentioned was Microsoft Live One Care. www.windowsonecare.com is a program with a yearly rate that can help with the maintenance of up to 3 computers. One problem encountered was trying to clear Norton out of your PC.

People were invited to attend the January 4 meeting to vote on the Photo Contest and enjoy some refreshments. The submitted photos for the contest were shown and the cut off date of Dec. 15 was given.

Frank Reiter moved to adjourn at 8:45, seconded by Gil Kettler.

Four door prizes were awarded to Sue Gadone, Tom Douglas, Jack Dunmyre, and Jim Cahill.

Respectfully submitted,

Betty Barrett, Secretary

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For November 2, 2006

The meeting was brought to order by the president, Herb Sapirman at 7:32 PM. Herb welcomed new members Marilyn Tobin and Cathy Sorgi.

Betty Barrett, Secretary, read the October minutes. Motion to approve by Frank Reiter, seconded by Les Cole. Approved as read.

Treasurer, Evette Sapirman, gave the treasurer’s report (see attached). Motion to approve by Jim Burke, seconded by Gary Koster. Approved.

The November SIG classes will be held in the Card Room.

Nov  8            7 PM          Photo Album 6            Don Bennett      

Nov 14           2 PM          Files & Folders            Eleanor Weston

Nov 16           7 PM          Paint Shop Pro 10        Don Bennett

Gary Koster is trying to arrange to use the card room for another class on Nov. 21 on Christmas Letters Using Microsoft Word to be given by Les Cole.

There is a way to use an IPOD as a GPS by going to ipoddirections.com.

If you are having trouble getting your e-mail to print on the right hand side of the page, go to Page Set-up and make margins as wide as possible or switch to Landscape. Using Internet Explorer 7, go to printer, click print preview and use “Shrink to Fit” feature.

Don Bennett discussed a new photo program called Picasa 2 that locates and organizes all of the photos on your PC.  It is free from Google and can be downloaded by going to Google, then Internet, More, Even More, Picasa, Free Download. This program scans your hard drive for all photos stored in your PC. They are displayed with no wait time and indexed as you have labeled them or by subject matter, or by date. If you right click on any photo it will give you data on that photo.

You can also set up an account with many different photo printing companies and e-mail them your photos. You can then pick them up in one hour on a CD. Don Bennett uses Wal-Mart. This program can also interact with Google Earth in an interesting way.

Dick McQuillen stated that Microsoft has a program similar to Picasa called “Location Finder”.

Don Weston showed the photos that have been submitted for the photo contest.

Door prizes were awarded to Nancy Tomasic, Frank Cornelius, and Don Bennett.

Meeting was adjourned at 9:02 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,

Betty Barrett, Secretary

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For October 5, 2006

The meeting was called to order by President, Herb Sapirman, at 7:30 pm. One new member was introduced, Phyllis Banner.

Jean Strand read the minutes from the September meeting due to the absence of Betty Barrett. Motion to approve the minutes was made by Jim Burke and seconded by Frank Reiter.

Evette Sapirman gave the financial report. Motion to approve was made by Frank Cornelius and seconded by Manny Ostrofsky. See attached.

Gary Koster is taking over organizing the SIG classes. He spoke about the upcoming SIG class on Basic Computer which Eleanor Weston is teaching on October 12, 2006 at 7:00pm. Eleanor then spoke about the need for teachers for the SIG classes. Teachers don’t need to be experts about their subject, members of the computer club will help new teachers. It is important for the Computer Club to offer these classes to their members. With a little “help” from Eleanor the following people agreed to teach classes in the near ftiture: Les Cole, Dick Heitkemper, Phyllis Banner, Kurt Knuth and Frank Cornelius.

Dick Heitkemper asked about the possibility of a survey to all club members asking what topics they would like to see taught for future SIG classes.

Saturday movies continued in September and will happen the third Saturday in October thanks to Jack Schreiber and Dick McQuillen. The movie shown in September was Rumor Has it. Dick brought in a device which they hooked up to Jack’s laptop, they had “surround sound” while watching the movie on the big screen at the Clubhouse munching popcorn and drinking soda pop.

During the New Business Herb thanked Dick McQuiflen for donating HP ink cartridges to any member of the computer club who can use them in their printers. Microsoft has a new program coming out in January 2007 called Vista. If you go to Microsoft.com you can check your computer to see if it will take Vista and which version it can use. Microsoft is looking for 5 million people to test Vista but Herb cautioned against doing this. Jack Pultz asked about virtual Memory which was discussed at last months computer club meeting. Les Cole answered questions and talked about Virtual Memory. If you need to change yours go to My Computer, then System Information to change your settings.

Jack Pultz requested a SIG class on managing files and folders. Eleanor Weston has taught this class in the past and will try to have it again.

Dick Heitkemper gave some infoimation about backing up your computer. He found an external hard drive with 300 gigabytes for $100.00. Great buy. Call him for information.

Jack Pultz asked if there were any deals on Smart Computing Magazine. His is about to expire. No special deals at this time.

The Focus of tonight’s meeting is the Photo Contest. Don Weston emailed all computer club members with the rules and regulations about the contest. The ballots for the final judging in January 2007 will be taken from the CD not the picture printed. He hopes to have thumbnails of all the entered pictures in each category. Each entry will cost $5.00 and the person entering it must decide which category the picture will go into.

Door Prizes were awarded to:1st prize: Phyllis Banner
                                         2nd prize: Don LeBlanc
                                         3rd prize: Jean Strand

The meeting was adjourned at 8:28pm. Motion to approve was made by Frank Reiter and seconded by Gary Koster.

Respectfully submitted,

Jean E. Strand

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For September 7, 2006

The meeting was brought to order by president, Herb Sapirman, at 7:30 PM. Several guests were introduced; Ken & Elaine Ernst, Jim Schiflett, Phyllis Banner. New member, Howard Bowling, was also introduced.

Secretary Betty Barrett read minutes of the last meeting on May 4, 2006. Motion to approve by Eleanor Weston, seconded by Gary Koster. Minutes were approved as read.

Evette Sapirman gave the financial report. Moved to accept by Gary Koster and seconded by Jack Dunmyre. See attached.

Don Weston announced the Computer Club Digital Photography Contest and handed out fliers announcing the contest. See attached. Don stated this is a first attempt by the Computer Club and it is not a moneymaker. It is a fun project that should help to maintain interest in the Computer Club.

The contest is open to all High Vista residents and photos may be submitted from Oct – December 15^th. Contest will be advertised at Coffee, HOA meetings, Channel 95, the newsletter, on website and photos will be shown at many events. All submissions will be on a disk, in jpeg, and one hard copy will be kept for identification purposes. Photos will be displayed anonymously for viewing and voting purposes. Voting will take place at Jan. 4, 2007 Computer Club meeting. Entire community is invited to attend and vote. See attached flier)

Some power cords and cables are available.

Herb Sapirman announced that due to several members’ health issues, there is a pressing need for volunteers to

1)    Work with Don Weston on scheduling SIG classes. The SIG classes are the lifeblood of the computer club. These volunteers will also need to send out notices of classes. Gary Koster and Jack Schefik volunteered.

2)    Give SIG classes. Several classes such as Excel and Beginning Computing have a syllabus already prepared and require a class leader. The club will help anyone who volunteers to teach.

3)    Someone to do the monthly movies until the Kettlers return. This would require picking up a current movie, making popcorn and showing the movie. Jack Schreiber was thanked for doing this in the past.

For September, the SIG classes and the movie may be cancelled unless volunteers are found.

A computer question was asked. “What does it mean when there is a message that says Virtual Memory is low”? Dick McQuillen’s answer was to reset in My Computer.

At 7:55, Gary Koster moved to close the meeting and was seconded by Eleanor Weston.

Discussion followed the meeting. Dick McQuillen will bring information on network.magic to next meeting. It is a good program for setting up your own network. He will also bring information regarding a program to back up files – sync.com.

Dick Heitkemper demonstrated his new 20” Intel Apple computer. He is very pleased with the graphics. Dick stated there was a good amount of support available at the Apple store in the Florida Mall. Some free classes came with his computer, which he attends. Dick said if you purchase this computer through MacMall there is no sales tax.

Respectfully submitted,

Betty Barrett, Secretary

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For May 4, 2006

President Herb Sapirman brought meeting to order at 7:30 PM. Two guests were introduced, Rich Rooney and Doug Baker.

Minutes of the April meeting were read by Secretary Betty Barrett. Motion to approve by Bob McLean and seconded by Don Weston. Minutes were approved as read.

Evette Sapirman, Treasurer, gave the financial report. See attached.

The SIG Classes for May are:

Excel for Beginners      Wed  May 10  2PM   Card Room  Herb Sapirman

Beginning Computing   Thurs May 11  2 PM  Card Room  Eleanor Weston

Digital Photography     Tues  May 16  2 PM  Card Room  Don Weston
(Photo Album 5)

Files & Folders            Thurs May 18  7 PM  Card Room  Eleanor Weston

The Quicken class offered by Jean Strand was cancelled as only one person signed up. The Club does not offer class if less than three sign up

Kurt Knuth suggested we list classes in newsletter when possible. It was agreed we would try that in the Fall.

It was decided to try to have a meeting on June 1. Ben Skversky will preside. We will not meet in July and August. Regular meetings will start in September.

Jack Schreiber was thanked for showing the Movie in April.. More people are needed to learn to operate the equipment if this movie program is to continue over the summer. Jack will check his calendar to see if he is available to show movie on May 27.

The computers for sale at April meeting were all sold. It was stated that members can bring good usable equipment to sell at meetings starting in the Fall. Club website could be utilized for advertising equipment for sale. Get a photo and specs to Ben Skversky for advertising on website.

Don Weston announced the Digital Photography Contest to start in Fall. Photos must be in jpeg format on a disk and 1 print is needed for record keeping. Residents will judge the contest and there will be a $200 prize for each category (Nature, people, and Humorous). A $5 entry fee must accompany each entry.

Tickets were drawn for three door prizes, 2 $20 Gift certificates for Staples and 1 packet of photo paper.

Meeting closed at 8 PM and was followed by round table discussions.

Respectfully submitted,

Betty Barrett, Secretary

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For April 6, 2006

The meeting was called to order at 7:37 by president Herb Sapirman.

Secretary Betty Barrett read minutes of the March 2, 2006. Gary Koster moved to approve as read, seconded by Jack Pultz.

Treasurer Evette Sapirman gave the financial report (see attached). Sally Douglas moved to approve, seconded by Liz Zellhofer

April SIG Classes are:

4/11  2 PM          VOIP                                      Don Bennett

4/19  2 PM          Files & Folders for Beginners      Eleanor Weston

4/20  7 PM          Ulead & Slides (Advanced)         Dick Heitkemper

4/27  7 PM          Basic Quicken 2002                   Jean Strand

Herb Sapirman requested that members with ideas for SIG Classes please bring their ideas forward. Any one offering a class will receive assistance from other instructors.

Tony Barrett reported on the used inkjet cartridge project. $122 was received this month bringing the total to $327 thus far. 10 DVD’s have been purchased for $193.54 leaving a balance of $133.46 to be used for this project. Tony thanked everyone for their cooperation.

Jack Schreiber will show this month’s movie on April 22. The movie will be the latest King Kong production.

Don Weston announced the Computer Club would sponsor a community-wide Digital Photography Contest. There will be 3 categories for submissions – nature, people, and humorous. Each submission must be in jpeg format, on a disk, and printed hard copy for record keeping. Each entry must be accompanied by $5 and given to Evette Sapirman or Betty Barrett. Photos will be displayed at the November and December meetings of the Club and will be judged by attendees at the January 2007 meeting. Prizes of $200 will be awarded to winners.

Don Bennett gave an overview of some of the ideas brought back from the Convention.

Some new Microsoft Beta products were discussed. A Beta program is a trial program available to the public before the formal release of a new product. Microsoft encourages feedback to work out program snags.

One Beta Program is Internet Explorer 7. It offers enhanced Tab browsing with the ability to view many websites at one time. Also offers RSS (Real Simple Syndication), which puts out information without user searching. It offers alerts on phishing and has an improved print preview. It will be available in the second half of 2006.

Windows Vista, designed to replace XP, will be released sometime in early 2007. Business Vista will be out in November 2006. There will be 4 versions for home PCs.

Windows Live One Care Beta program is available during April 2006 for $19.95. When the product is released to the public, it will cost $49.95 and can be used for up to 3 PCs. It will provide comprehensive security protection for PCs with antivirus, antispyware, firewall, PC maintenance tools, file backup and restore functions all in one product. Norton is expected to have a full service program called “Genesis” in the summer.

Three computers were offered for sale by the Club. They have keyboards and mouse but no monitors. Two cost $75 each and one was available for $50. Dick McQuillen donated some power cords and printer cables for members.

Next meeting will be May 4, 2006. Round table discussion groups with a variety of topics will be offered.

Door Prizes were: 2 Staples gift certificates and a lock for a laptop.

Motion to adjourn was made at 8:37 by Gary Koster, seconded by Jim Burke.

Meeting was followed by a video presentation of the 2006 High Vista Fashion Show given by Dick Heitkemper.

Respectfully submitted.

Betty Barrett, Secretary

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For March 2, 2006

Meeting called to order at 7:30 PM by president Herb Sapirman. Thirty-two members and five guests were present.

New members, Marilyn Bonomo, Shirley Peters, and Juanita Zoodsma, were introduced.

Secretary Betty Barrett read minutes of the February meeting. Moved to approve by Peggy Kettler, seconded by Fred Schneider.

Treasurer Evette Sapirman read Trreasurer’s report. Moved to approve by Manny Ostrofsky and seconded by Gil Kettler. (See attached).

March SIG classes are:

Mar. 7   2PM  Card Room  Basic Computers for Beginners        Eleanor Weston

Mar. 9   7PM  Card Room  Power Point                            Don Bennett

Mar. 14  2PM  Card Room  Music                                    Don Bennett

Mar. 23  7PM  Card Room  Files & Folders                               Eleanor Weston

Mar. 30  7PM  Card Room  Ulead for Beginners                       Dick Heitkemper

President Herb Sapirman asked for more volunteer instructors. Volunteers do not need to be professional computer experts or have a background in education. Don Weston, our Education Chairman, will assist them in developing material and getting started.

Gil & Peggy Ketler were thanked for getting and showing the once a month Saturday Night movie in the clubhouse. The February movie was “War of the Worlds” and was donated to the Library. Volunteers are needed to take over the monthly movie when Ketlers head North for the summer.

Tony Barrett received a check for $105 for used cartridge recycling project which was turned over to the treasurer. There are 6 HP#10 unused cartridges and 3 VC1 unused cartridges that will be advertised on Channel 95 by Juanita Zoodsma. They are available for anyone who can use them. If they are not taken, the cartridges will go into the recycling program. The proceeds from the recycling program fund the Saturday Night movies. Dick McQuillen was thanked for the large donations he has made to this project.

The next meeting will be held 0n April 6, 2006. Meeting was closed at 7:53 PM and followed by an excellent program given by Smart Computing Magazine. A subscription to Smart Computing gives you access to free help with computer problems and has many other advantages.  Smart Computing also offered 3 door prizes – a free one year subscription to the magazine, and 2 slip cases with 6 six Smart Computing reference booklets (a value of  $70 each)

Respectfully submitted,

Betty Barrett, Secretary

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For February 2, 2006

Meeting was brought to order at 7:30 PM by president Herb Sapirman. Forty (40) members and three (3) guests were present.

New members, Frank Bonomo, Sandra Glumac, Sylvia Mazeau, Ron Signorino, Ann Williams, Sonny Williams, and Tom Douglas, were welcomed. Three guests, Suzi Grubb, Janice DeLoach, and Frank Kynast were introduced.

Minutes of the January meeting were read by Secretary Betty Barrett and approved.

Don Bennett present revised by-laws for Computer Club. Floyd Haff questioned wording of the Quorum. It was decided to leave as it was presented for amending at another time. Frank Reiter moved to approve by-laws. Seconded by Mannie Ostrofsky. Vote for approval was unanimous. 

February SIG classes are:

Feb 9    7 PM Card Room - Photo Album - Don Bennett

Feb 16  7 PM Card Room - Digital Photography - Don Weston

Feb 21  2 PM Card Room - Windows XP, Intermediate - Don Bennett

Feb 23  7 PM Card Room - Ulead for Beginners - Dick Heitkemper

Feb 28  2 PM Card Room - Basic Computers for Beginners - Eleanor Weston

Herb Sapirman mentioned deals that are available at Best Buy online for Turbo Tax, Tax Cut and a flash card. Office Depot also has bargains on Norton Products, flash cards, and paper, that are virtually free after mail-in rebates.

Movie “March of the Penguins” was shown in January and donated to the Library.

One hundred dollars ($100) was received for the Club from 100 used ink jet cartridges that were sent in by Tony Barrett. Presently, he has 77 used cartridges that have been donated. They can only be sent in groups of 100. Three new cartridges that may have been accidentally donated were offered for return to donor.

Jack Pultz inquired if it was necessary to purchase anti-virus software as Windows XP has a built –in firewall. Dick McQuillen responded that the Windows XP firewall only protects incoming mail, not outgoing.

Members were warned to backup data on their computers and update their virus protection as a new worm is due to activate on Feb. 3, 2006. The EXY Computer Virus overwrites anything in Microsoft Office. A CNN.com clip was shown for information regarding this problem.

You can go to Norton’s website and use their security check to see if your computer has been infected. It will only inform you if you have been infected, it will not clear up the problem. When cleaning up a computer that has been infected, turn off the Windows restore feature before cleaning, and only turn it back on after computer has been cleaned.

Jack Schreiber thanked Don Weston for his help in presenting the pool survey results at the Homeowners Association meeting in January.

At the March meeting, a program will be presented by Smart Computing Magazine.

Mernette LeFew moved to close the business meeting at 8:12 PM, seconded by Fred Schneider.

Following the meeting, a program on Computer Maintenance given by Dick McQuillen. Don Weston presented a video made for the Westons’ 50^th Wedding Anniversary. Door prizes were a package of 50 jewel cases, a package of DVD disks, and a computer cleaning kit.

Respectfully submitted,

Betty Barrett, Secretary

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For January 5, 2006

The meeting was called to order at 7:35 PM by retiring president Don Weston who introduced two visitors, Tom & Janet Jeknovarian and new member Willy Stay. There were 42 in attendance.

Don thanked Liz Zellhofer for her service as Secretary/ Treasurer. He also thanked the nominating committee chaired by Ted Gilding. Don announced that two new committees have been created; Education Committee and Membership & Welcoming Committee. Don Weston will serve as chairman of Education and Eleanor Weston will chair the Membership Committee. This expands the Computer Club Board to seven (7) members.

The new officers were introduced:

                           President                        Herb Sapirman

                           First Vice President           Dick McQuillen

                           Second Vice President       Don Bennett

                           Secretary                         Betty Barrett

                           Acting Treasurer               Evette Sapirman

The meeting was turned over to president Herb Sapirman who thanked Don Weston for contributing over five (5) years of service that resulted in an active and successful computer club. Herb stated he welcomes suggestions and participation in programs and SIG classes. The group was reminded to use the code number 11268 when ordering Smart Computing to provide us with free subscriptions used as door prizes. All checks should be made out to “High Vista Computer Club”.

Minutes and the Treasurer’s report were read by Betty Barrett, Secretary Frank Reiter moved to approve as read, seconded by Gary Koster. Passed unanimously. (See attached)

A committee to revise the by-laws has been appointed. They are Betty Barrett, Eleanor Weston, and Don Bennett. They will meet at 2 PM on Jan.6 at 533 Ridge View Drive. Anyone wishing to attend is welcome.

Dick Heitkemper announced he tried True Voice for two months and experienced difficulties. It requires 12 days to get back his original phone number with Verizon. Herb Sapirman stated he has Bright House and has had no problems.

SIG classes for January are posted on the website and are:

Jan. 10 at 2 PM - instructor Don Bennett- Voice Over IP.

Jan. 24 at 2 PM – instructor Herb Sapirman – Excel Basics, Part 2

Jan. 26 at 7 PM - instructor Dick Heitkemper – U Lead for Beginners,

Jan. 31 at 2 PM – instructor Eleanor Weston – Files & Folders for Beginners

In response to a question, Don Weston said that to use the wireless at the clubhouse, the first time, you must enter the code number five (5) ten (10) times and confirm it with five entered ten times. It is a secure site.

Dick Heitkemper said Best Buy had a two-day sale on a computer for a very good price. Don Weston felt the computer was underpowered and was not a good value.

At 8 PM Frank Reiter moved to close the meeting and Gary Koster seconded. Approved.

Following the meeting, a program on Backing up Your PC and other security issues was given by Don Bennett.

Door prizes of $20 Best Buy gift certificate, $15 Best Buy gift certificate and a package of 50 DVDs were awarded to the lucky winners.

Respectfully submitted,

Betty Barrett, Secretary

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For December 1, 2005

Second Vice President, Don Bennett, called the meeting to order at 7:30 PM.  Liz Zellhofer, Secretary/Treasurer, read minutes and Treasurer’s report.

A motion was made by Frank Reiter and seconded by Dick Heitkemper to accept the minutes as read.

Don welcomed guests: Conrad Schilline, Joan Lonergan, Rose Greer and one new member, Doris Gadberry.

SIG classes for Dec. and Jan. are on the Computer Club Website: “highvistacc.org”.

Frank Cornelius will give a class on E-Bay, Dec. 6, at 2 PM.  Don Weston showed a magazine about E-Bay, cost is $ 9.95.  If we ordered 20 or more the cost would be  $ 7.95

Eleanor Weston spoke about beginner class Dec. 7^th

Don Weston will be giving a class on Digital Photography Dec.8^th

Herb Sapirman gave a brief description of his Basic Excel class Dec 13^th

Don Bennett talked about his Back-up your Computer class Dec. 15^th

Tony Barrett reported that he had about 80 empty ink cartridges collected. He is waiting to get 100 so we would get $100.00 for the club to be used for purchase of DVDs for the Library. Used ink jet cartridges are to be placed in the collection box in the Communications Room.

Jack Dunmyre from the Nominating Committee said Jack Schreiber should be added to the Committee list, omitted from last month’s minutes.

The nominations are:

  President:      Herb Sapirman

    First Vice President:       Dick McQuillen

Second Vice President:       Don Bennett

 Secretary/Treas:       Betty Barrett

There were no other nominations from the floor.

The officers were voted in unanimously by the membership.

To complete our Board of Directors, Don Weston will hold the position of Past President and will be Chairman of the Education Committee. Ben Skversky as past V.P. holds the position of Webmaster of the Computer Club’s Website.

Eleanor Weston is the Chairperson of the Membership & Welcoming Committee.

Don Weston said that from now on the checks for dues or class fees should be made out to “High Vista Computer Club” as we are now established as a not for profit business account.

Gil & Peggy Ketler have hosted the Saturday Night Movie for October & November.  We need volunteers for January so that Gil & Peggy can train them.  The objective is to have other Computer Club members trained on the equipment.

Jack Pultz mentioned that he had a 15” monitor free for anyone that could use it.

A motion was made by Frank Reiter and seconded by Gary Koster to adjourn the meeting.

Door Prizes of two 1-year subscriptions to Smart Computing Magazine and two $25.00 Gift Certificates to Staples Office Supply were given away to the lucky winners.

Respectfully submitted by:

Liz Zellhofer, Secretary/Treasurer

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For November 3, 2005

The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by president Don Weston. Minutes and Treasurer’s report were read by Liz Zellhofer, Secretary.

Ted Gilding had corrections to the minutes: Dues should be pro-rated consistently for new members.  He also asked to correct his name from the last minutes to GILDING, not Gelding.

A motion to accept the changes was made by Jerry Campbell and seconded by Manny Ostrofsky. 

The following SIG classes for November are on the website:

Nov. 8 - 2 p.m., Cardroom  - Eleanor Weston, Instructor, Basic Computers for Beginners

Nov. 10 - 7 p.m., Cardroom - Don Bennett, Instructor, Introduction to XP

Nov. 15^th class - cancelled due to scheduling conflict with photo album

Nov. 22 - 2 p.m.,  Cardroom - Eleanor Weston, Instructor, Files & Folders

Eleanor asked for help in setting up computers on the days she teaches.

Tony Barrett is asking everybody to bring their empty ink cartridges to the club house. We are collecting them to get a Dollar a piece. The money will be used to buy DVDs for the Saturday night movies and then donated to the library.

The DVD “The Interpreter” was donated to Don LeBlanc for the library.

Don Weston is looking for volunteers to train and run the movies on Saturday night. The hosts for November are Gil and Peggy Ketler.

Nomination committee members are:  Ginny Heller, Gary Koster and Jack Dunmyre.

At 7:50 PM a motion was made by Gil Ketler and seconded by Jack Schefick to adjourn the meeting. All were in favor.

Don Bennett had an interesting program about VONAGE. That is Voice Over Internet Protocol. The only requirement is to have DSL or high speed cable internet. With this you can call any place in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico for $ 25.00.

The second half of his program was about GOOGLE EARTH. If you have XP you can pull up any place in the world. This BETA program is free.

Door prizes were raffled off.

Respectfully submitted by:

Liz Zellhofer, Secretary/Treasurer

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For October 6, 2005

The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by 1^st Vice President Ted Guilding.

Herb Sapirman read the minutes for September 8, 2005 meeting.  The minutes were accepted by Frank Reiter and seconded by Manny Ostrofsky.

Ted Guilding introduced the new members, only Sue Gaddone was present at this meeting.

SIG classes for October were stated:

Tuesday Oct. 18, 2:00 p.m. card room…..Files and Folders
 – Instructor: Eleanor Weston

Thursday Oct. 20, 7:00 p.m……Photo Album 5
 – Instructor: Don Bennett

The request was made for a Beginners Class to be given.

There was a discussion as to good contribution this computer club is making to the community.

Ted Guilding opened the discussion to change the bylaws concerning dues.  The motion was introduced to change the bylaws to create January 1 for date dues are to be paid.

The following motion was voted on:

I move to change High Vista Computer Club bylaws accordingly:

Annual dues as determined by the board.

All anniversary dates will be January 2^nd of each calendar year.

Current member dues pro-rated quarterly until January 2, 2006

New member dues pro-rated quarterly until January 2, 2007

Motion accepted by Frank Reiter and seconded by Herb Sapirman….  Motion carried.

Floor opened up to questions and problems with computers.

Motion to adjourn was made by Frank Reiter and seconded by Don Luebben at 7:50 which made this the shortest meeting of record.

Respectfully submitted by:

Evette Sapirman, member

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For September 8, 2005

The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by President Don Weston. Don introduced Brenda Schell from Progress Energy, who made a presentation on surge protection service offered by Progress Energy. After her presentation, Tony Barrett talked about different types of surge protectors and where they could be purchased.

Don Weston introduced new members Jack Bunker, John Sheckells, Joan Lawrence and Gene Lawrence.

Don introduced Ted Gilding who has volunteered to be the acting 1^st Vice-president replacing Ray Ballou. Don thanked Ted for stepping up to the plate. Ted read the minutes to the May 6, 2005 meeting, motion to approve was made by Gary Koster and seconded by Tony Barrett. Don Weston read the treasurer’s report.

SIG classes for September were announced and shown on the Computer Club Web Site:

September 13, Computers for Beginners by Eleanor Weston; September 15, Ulead 9 by Dick Heitkemper; September 20, Files & Folders for Beginners by Eleanor Weston; and September 22, Digital Photography Workshop by Don Weston.

Ted Gilding spoke about the yearly dues. As of January 2007, he suggested we increase the dues to $16.00 per year with everyone having one due date starting January 2007. Our by-laws will have to be changed if this is approved. During 2006, dues will be adjusted quarterly, collected on the various anniversary dates, as per the following schedule:

Jan thru Mar 2006 pays $16.00        Apr thru Jun pays $12.00
Jul  thru Sep pays $8.00                 Oct thru Dec pay $4.00
Jan 2007, everyone pays $16.00

Don Weston presented the idea that the Computer Club take over the Free Movie Night at High Vista. The Club would purchase the most current released DVD movie, volunteers would be trained on the equipment, show the movie and then it would be given to the Library for all residents to take out.

Motion to adjourn was made by Fred Frohmann and seconded by Jean Strand.

Dick Heitkemper did a presentation on his “Alaska Trip” using Ulead 9 Program.  He mentioned he would be doing a class the following Thursday to demonstrate how this was done.

Respectfully submitted by:

Eleanor Weston, Acting Sec/Treas  

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For March 3, 2005

The meeting was called to order by our President, Don Weston at 7:30 PM. We had 52 members and 19 guests in attendance. Don welcomed all guests and the following new members:  Judy Thomas,  Mary Kay Kukic,  Cheryl Gray,  Jean Metz,  Carolyn Carlson, and Ray Normandeau.

Liz Zellhofer, Secretary, read the minutes and treasurer’s report. They were approved as read.  Frank Reiter made a motion to accept and seconded by Gary Koster.

Correction to last month minutes:  Jack Schreiber stated a correction, that he had the approval of Fred Frohman, Director of Communications, not the Board, to proceed with the HOA Galleries Website addition.

Membership dues for 2005 are due and payable on your anniversary date.  Reminders have been sent out. We have 157 members to date.

Don reviewed our website www.highvistacc.org showing officers and SIG classes. There will be a class of BASIC COMPUTING FOR BEGINNERS on March 8^th by Eleanor Weston with equipment, projector and computers. Don Bennett and Don Weston will also have classes on Digital Photography this month. There will a be a class on Excel (Part 1) by Instructor Herb Sapirman.  Excel (Part 2) will follow in April and also in March, Windows XP basic, Instructor: Don Bennett

Please reply to the persons giving the class to let them know you are coming. They need to prepare the Handouts. Walk-ins are welcome but they will have to copy the Handouts. And please try to have the right amount of $ 2.- when coming to class.

Saturday and Sunday, March 5-6, 2005 will be the FACUG convention in Kissimmee www.facug.org A Report will be given at next months meeting.

If you want to see the pictures in Galleries of the High Vista Home Owner’s Assn., go to www.highvistahoa.org and put in the password that we use to get into the clubhouse. Right now we are in the process of formatting a design and designating a sizing process for photos. 

Special Offer from Road Runner: They will only charge $ 5.95 a month for the months you are away or $ 29.95 for 6 months or more.  Keep your modem at home; they will render your modem as inactive until you return.  Dial up while up north or on the road. Your e-mail address will not change.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:50 PM, motion made by Frank Reiter, seconded by Cory Somes.

The presentation from Smart Computing Magazine’s representative, Marcy Gunn, was very interesting. Among all the features of the magazine she mentioned that you could save articles for later view in their Library. It will stay on the website, not on your hard drive. You have to be a subscriber to use this service.

She also mentioned, that they have a Tech Support Center open to the public www.smartcomputing.com which gives an 800 # to their office in Lincoln, Nebraska.

If you go to the User Group Section, you can subscribe on line. Be sure to use our High Vista Computer Club Code #11628 as the club receives 1 free subscription for every 5 new or renewals to use as door prizes at our monthly meetings.

Everyone attending received a Gift packet and Door Prizes were awarded.

Respectfully submitted

Liz Zellhofer, Secretary/Treasurer

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For February 3, 2005

The meeting was called to order by President, Don Weston at 7:30 PM. There were 45 members and 5 guests in attendance. The guests were: David DuCharme, Jack Weaver, Ann Ostrofsky, Bonnie and Bill Robinette. Don welcomed new members: Elke Bielstein, Brenda Ferguson, Paul Repke, Dottie Roscoe and Marge Wegman.

Liz Zellhofer, Secretary, read the minutes and treasurer’s report. They were approved as read. A motion to accept was made by Frank Reiter and seconded by Dick Heitkemper.

Eleanor is looking for volunteers to help at sign in before the meeting, so she can rotate people.  Please notify her if you are able to help.

A reminder for charter members to pay their dues for 2005. There are just a few members that will be taken off the rolls if not paid up.

Don recognized  donations of equipment from Ed Kerns and Erika Niegowski.

Please check the website www.highvistacc.org which shows the officers and SIG classes for the month. If interested in a class, respond to the instructor by email to let them know you are coming, so enough handouts can be prepared.  Please have the exact change when coming to the class. It helps!

Upcoming Convention in Kissimmee on March 6 & 7, 2005. There will be 3 officers representing our club, but all members are invited. Check the website for details:  www.facug.org

There has been proposed, a new addition to the High Vista Home Owner’s website www.highvistahoa.org When you go to the Galleries Tab, using the same password as the Clubhouse,  (this would be a restricted site),  pictures of residents at events or activities would be shown.  Jack Schreiber is spearheading this idea and has approval of the board to move ahead..  He needs volunteer photographers to cover these events as well as taking portrait type photos of couples and individuals.  Also the entertainment committee has proposed taking photos of Dances, Parties, Flea Market, Craft Show etc.  Then at the New Years Eve party, a multi-media showing of  “A Year in Review 2005” could be shown during that evening.

Next month we’ll have Smart Computing Magazine as our Guest Presenters. Don mentioned that if anyone is renewing or ordering the Smart Computing Magazine to use the code #11628.  The club receives credit of (1) free subscription for every (5) new subscriptions or renewals sent in.  We are then able to use these for Door Prizes.

A motion was made by Frank Reiter and seconded by Gary Koster at 7:55 PM to adjourn. 

Don Weston then introduced our guest speaker David Whittle. He showed different Photo Presentation Software and everybody had a chance to buy or order the programs at discount prices.

One of the programs was awarded as the Door Prize.

Respectfully submitted

Liz Zellhofer, Secretary/Treasurer

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For January 6, 2005

Our President, Don Weston called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m. He welcomed new members Mernette and Chuck LeFew, Marilyn Tobin and Don Luebben. We had 41 members, 4 new members and one guest, Robert Brandt in attendance.

Our new Secretary/Treasurer Liz Zellhofer was introduced. She read the minutes and treasurer's report. Motion was made by Frank Reiter and seconded by Gary Koster to approve them as read.

Don reminded the attendees that Charter member dues are to be paid in January 2005.

He made everyone aware of our website www.highvistacc.org which shows the officers and SIG Classes (Special Interest Groups) or the month of January. A mention was made that on Feb. 15th there will be a special class for AOL users at 2:00 p.m. and that all AOL people are expected to show up. Dick McQuillen will conduct a class on hardware near the end of February.  On www.highvistahoa.org “Residents Galleries” can be viewed by entering the password, the same as for the doors. This site is in the conceptual stage and will be under construction.

March 4-6, 2005 will be the FACUG Spring Convention in Kissimmee - see www.facug.org. for details.  All Computer Club members are invited to attend. 

Upcoming guest speakers:

February:  David Whittle, presenting and demonstrating all types of multi-media software at discount prices. You might want to bring your checkbook.

March:  Marcy Gunn and Team from Smart Computing Magazine. They will be using us as a warm up for their presentation at the Convention. They always bring lots of goodies and door prizes.

Meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m.

Ray Ballou hosted the Question and Answer session.

Eleanor Weston did a presentation on Turbo Tax, followed by Don Bennett demonstrating Windows Media Player 10. Then, several Slide Shows were shown using 3D Album with several different photo applications.

Door prize drawings concluded the evening.

Respectfully submitted,

Liz Zellhofer, Secretary/Treasurer

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For December 2, 2004

The meeting was called to order by our president, Don Weston at 7:38 p.m.  There were 34 members present and 1 guest, John Chiangi.

Don welcomed new members:  Hugh & Sylvia Brydges, Bev Nesseth, Bill Smith, Gloria Scheffler, Richard McQuillan, Gloria Wenger, Helen Chiangi, Marie Gagne, Linda Millard and Debbie Favinger.

Don Bennett read the minutes from the last meeting, November 4^th.  Motion was made to approve by Frank Reiter and seconded by Manny Ostrofsky.  Treasurer’s report:  $492.97 in the checking account and $57.00 in the savings account.

Jack Schreiber, Chairman of the Nominating Committee, gave his report and the Committee nominated the following Officers:

Don Weston, President

Ray Ballou, First Vice President

Don Bennett, Second Vice President

Liz Zellhofer, Secretary/Treasurer

By a show of hands, all members were in favor of the nominations and the slate of Officers was elected.

Last month B&C Computers were at the meeting and they suggested not to Install Service Pack 2 for XP.  However, it could be very important, as Service Pack 2 contains vital security patches.  Your computer must be free of all spyware/adware before attempting the installation.  We have CD’s available for those of you with dial-up Internet providers.

A reminder was given that Charter Member dues are due in January 2005.  Anniversary date for other members.

The Computer Club Website (www.highvistacc.org) shows Officers, By-Laws, SIG Classes for December and January.  In January we will have 3 Computer Classes for Beginners, knowing that everyone will be given new computers for Christmas.

There was a brief description of up-coming SIG Classes given by Instructors:

Don & Eleanor Weston and Don Bennett

A demonstration of the Homeowner’s Website (www.highvistahoa.org) was given showing that a great deal of High Vista Community Information can be obtained there.

Belarc Advisor, a valuable tool for obtaining your computer’s information was shown.

A Question and Answer session was held.

A Motion was made by Frank Reiter and seconded by Jean Strand to adjourn the business meeting at 8:25 p.m.

Don Bennett did a demonstration with a MP3 Player, the size of a BIC cigarette lighter, then using it for a slide presentation using Photo Story.

Don Weston showed a Cruise slide show on DVD created with a program called “Sonic my DVD”.

A camcorder DVD was played created by Dick McQuillen using Ulead Studio 8.

Door Prizes were given out to the lucky winners.

Respectfully submitted,

Liz Zellhofer, Secretary/Treasurer

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For November 4, 2004

President Don Weston called meeting to order at 7:30 pm.  There were 43 members in attendance. Don welcomed the 12 new members, Basille Blaesing, Sally Douglass, Ethel Frohmann, Fred Frohmann, Stephanie Garvida, Marguerite Hammond, Michael Hammond, Dwayne Moon, Nancy Moon, Judith Nastasi, Sam Nastasi, Charlie Weaver, and one guest, Falen Denluebben.

Don welcomed our guest speakers Al & Michele Snapp, Rich (Muzzy) Sirone, Roger Russell and Terry from B&C Computers.

The minutes from the October 7^th, 04 meeting were read, Frank Reiter made a motion to approve minutes, 2nd by Gary Koster.  The treasurer’s report as of Oct.31^st. Checking account balance is $490.30 with $57.04 in Savings.

Don announced that we do have 2 copies of the Service Pack2 disks available if anyone needs them.

Our website: www.highvistacc.org, and the High Vista Community Website: www.highvistahoa.org.  were shown and described as how to use different aspects of the site. Also www.facug.org was explained and they will be having a Spring Conference in March.  We will be having Smart Computing Magazine here during our March monthly meeting as Guest Speakers.

Don thanked Ruth Bevis once again for her service to the computer club, he then asked Jack Schreiber about the nominations for the coming year.  Jack thanked Beverly Bogart and Dick Ellsworth for all their help in the nominations committee.  The nominations were: Don Weston: President, Ray Ballou: Vice President and Don Bennett: 2^nd Vice President.  Secretary/Treasurer position was still open for nominations.

Don reminded us once again that Charter Member Dues are due in January; all other members are due the Month of their Anniversary Date.

SIG CLASSES FOR NOVEMBER & DECEMBER WILL BE POSTED ON THE COMPUTER CLUB WEBSITE.

Each instructor gave a short talk explaining his or her class:

Eleanor Weston: Microsoft Word Files & Folders & Basic Computers for Beginners

Don Bennett:  Jasc Photo Album 5 – Back-up / CD Burning

Jean Strand:  Basic Quicken

Don Weston: Digital Photography Workshop

Surveys need to be completed by all members as this will determine what classes will be offered in 2005, surveys also used for new member applications.

A Motion was made by Ray Ballou to adjourn and 2^nd by Frank Reiter.

Meeting adjourned 8:10 pm.

A Presentation was made by B&C COMPUTERS concerning the service pack 2 installation, followed by Q&A Session.

Door Prizes were given and meeting concluded 8:55 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Liz Waters, Acting Secretary

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For October 7, 2004

Don Weston called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m.  There were 30 members in attendance and one guest, Bill Smith. Don also welcomed our newest members, Charles and Gloria Weaver. Liz Waters were introduced as Acting Secretary and Ruth Bevis was thanked for her service to the Computer Club.

Liz Waters read the June 03, 2004 minutes, motion to approve made by Frank Cornelius and seconded by Dick Ellsworth. Treasures report $510.09 in the checking account and $52.01 in the savings account.

Jack Schreiber has been appointed Chairman of the Election Committee and will be calling on members to help with nominations. Bylaws require that we present nominations at the November Monthly Meeting and Elections will be held at the December Monthly Meeting.

Don explained about the new Service Pack 2 from Microsoft and thinks it is very important for security purposes and we do have it on disk if someone needs it. Disks are available from Gary Koster or Kurt Knuth.

Meeting was turned over to Q & A

Motion to adjourn made by Jack Schefick and seconded by Frank Cornelius.

Presentation followed on Internet Security, and then a DVD Cruise Slideshow was given, demonstrating the use of music combined with digital Photographs.

Door prize winners were: Bill Nevel (1yr subscription to Smart Computing Magazine) George Foster (Copy Paper) Johanna Skversky (100 CD Jewel Cases)

Meeting concluded 8:40 pm

Respectfully submitted,

Liz Waters, Acting Secretary

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For June 3, 2004

Don Weston called the meeting to order at 7:38 p.m. There were 22 members in attendance and two new guests, Ed and Annie Fiedler.  Don also welcomed our newest members, Ginny and Dwain Dial .

Eleanor Weston read the May 6, 2004 minutes, motion to approve made by Frank Reiter and seconded by Dick Heitkemper.  Treasurers report $1,339.94 in the checking account and $56.81 in the savings account.

Don indicated the need to schedule classes on the monthly calendar.  This calendar is on the Computer Club Web Site and we encourage people to use this method of finding out when and what classes will be held during the month. He also mentioned we need instructors to teach those classes. Eleanor gave an overview of the Basic Computing Class for Beginners, Part 1, introduction to keyboard, copy, cut and paste; Part 2 files and folders. This class has been successful.

All members are requested to complete a Membership application/survey as this will determine what classes will be offered in the fall. Those volunteering to help with various duties will be notified as to where and when they can be of assistance. We appreciate any and all volunteers. Eleanor is handling this and compiling the results.

An open workshop for new people that have computers or are contemplating purchasing one was held on May 27 with 5 people in attendance. There was no charge for this workshop as it was intended to be an ice breaker.

High Vista at Ridgewood Lakes Home Owners Association, Inc., (The Board) has requested we proceed with designing, implementing and running of the official High Vista Web Site. We were requested by the Board to submit a proposal supplying them with a front office computer and the maintenance of this computer. The Board asked us to obtain costs for necessary programs and a modem installation in the front office.

A question and answer period was held followed by a presentation on Internet Security and door prize drawing. Motion to adjourn by Ben Skversky and seconded by Dick Neimon.

Respectfully submitted,

Eleanor Weston, Acting Secretary for Ruth Bevis

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For May 6, 2004

Meeting was called to order at 7:30pm by President Don Weston. New members Pat Reiter and Bonnie Neimon were welcomed. 20 Members were present.

Minutes from the April 1^st meeting were read, motion to approve made by Frank Reiter and 2^nd by Gary Koster. Treasurer reported $1,213.94 in checking with $51.81 in savings.

Minutes from Board of Directors meeting held April 8^th, 2004 were read. Those minutes included the item regarding donation/disposal of the windows 98 computer and Sony monitor, Frank Reiter asked if this had been done and if not could we wait because a card reader system is being considered for the clubhouse and a computer will be needed.

Don announced the Wireless Internet installation has been postponed until use of front office is decided.  He asked the members how many have laptops, if you plan to buy one to purchase the wireless card as we should be up and running in a couple months. Once we are running Don suggested meeting at the clubhouse for coffee and fun by searching the Internet for different sites.

The e-mail problem seems to be resolved however we have a major problem. Don sent e-mail to members regarding May SIG classes and received no response. Time has to be scheduled for the card room months in advance, instructors have to take their time to prepare and it’s quite a disappointment when no one shows up. Please respond.

Don was asked if he had purchased a DVD player for the clubhouse, He had purchased a RCA that will play most all disks from Wal Mart for $74. Don suggested you read the symbols on front of player’s box to know the capabilities of player.

A member brought information to meeting for the HVCC Web site; Don asked that we check the Web for information and to give Ben Skversky any information to be shared with members.

Ken Mueller in having problems with his computer, Don asked the members if anyone has knowledge of the McIntosh system. 

Survey was passed out to each member prior to meeting; Eleanor Weston gave an explanation of survey. Each current and new member will receive a survey form to be completed.

Sample of the new Name tags was shown and will be ready by fall.

Meeting was turned over to Q & A

Internet: Illegal message coming up on screen. It is important to write down type or number of message and if possible what program you were in when error occurred.

Was told to run Windows update. Smart Computing magazine A-Z gave a detailed solution; Don has back copies and will check those for article. Windows – search for error message and if all else fails re-install windows.

Member having problems with reinstalling from floppy disc Windows 95 will take info up to the 13^th disc then have to start over. Need to format hard drive and re install. Down load diagnostic information from another computer on the Internet and run.

Intermittent problems with laptop. Member hears 1 then 3,3 and 1 beeps then computer shuts down. Was told to pull battery and try to use on power only. Most likely a battery problem.  Member stated at least he wasn’t in trouble as he had taken the back-up class.

Norton Anti Virus is running a lengthy update, we were told not to interrupt, as this is necessary to protect our system. We were told to run live Windows critical update to prevent worm virus, the instructions will come up on screen.

Door prizes were won by Bob Mclean (Digital Media Software)  Bridgette Fell (1 Year Subscription to Smart Computing Magazine)  Gary Koster (500 Pack Ink-Jet Paper) Meeting adjourned at 8:15

Don Weston gave a very informative program on how to use Microsoft Plus! Digital Media Edition Software.

Respectfully submitted,

Ruth Bevis, Secy.

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For April 1, 2004

President Don Weston called our regularly monthly meeting to order at 7:30pm.

Don welcomed our new members Diane Schreiber, Sue Tschudy, Ed Martin, Barb Donnelly, Patti & Jack Olinger. Present were 18 members and l guest Debbie Favinger.

Minutes from the March 4^th, 2004 meeting were read and motion to approve made by Herb Sapirman and 2^nd by Dick Heitkemper. Treasurer reported the checking account balance is $1,263.53 with $51.76 in savings.

Don mentioned the great presentation by Marcy Gunn and her staff from Smart Computing at the March meeting.

The problem with blocked e-mail has been resolved by changing screen name to DEWESTON@tampabay.rr.com. Don asked that members place new and old user name in their address book.  AOL & Yahoo would not respond to problem.

Membership was reminded to use their Web site, HVCC.org.  Send ideas and items for the bulletin board via  e-mail to Ben Skversky.

Don Bennett gave a report on the FACUG conference that he and Ben attended as representative of our club.

1.      Make our meetings fun. Have a small door prize.

2.      Digital Camera. Stay with name brands and 3 to 4 mega pixels.

3.      Smart Computing gave a presentation similar to one given here last month.

4.      Intel. Pushing new Centrino for laptops, runs cooler takes less battery. Intel

5.      will be marketing a new flat screen TV 42” to 50” screen at aprox. $3000.

SIG Calendar is out please checkout either bulletin board or Web site for Class and times.

Board of Directors meeting will be held April 8^th at 7pm to discuss Internet Provider and Installation of router and modem in the clubhouse.

Meeting turned over to Q & A

Windows problem with Adobe download, suggestion made not to up grade.

Birthday.Com has Virus and opens to many pop-ups.

Wireless – G Card faster long range. B card will work.

Shopping tips – Spool of 100 CD-R Office Max has for $19.95 and $20.00 rebate, l00 DVD – CD’s has $10. Rebate. Make sure your DVD is compatible to your machine to record i.e. 4 to 4 or 8 to 8. Makes no difference in playing.

DVD X Copy by 1 2 3 will copy any movie, it is no longer being made but some remain on shelf.

TIVO will be available in aprox. a month. Sound Advice Basic with unit pre programmed is $15. a month.  Weak knees, records up to 240 hours.

Meeting adjourned.

M S Plus Digital Media Edition Program presented by Don Weston. Don took still photos and put with music. Soft ware is $20. A SIG class will be held to show us how to put a show together.

Don Bennett using Windows XP – 3 D Album from Dave Whittle gave a similar presentation but had lots of 3 D. Software $39.

Respectfully submitted,

Ruth Bevis, Secy.

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For March 4, 2004

President Don Weston called our monthly meeting to order at 7:30pm.

Don welcomed our guest speakers Marcy Gunn, Eric Reed and Heather Mentgen from Smart Computing Magazine.

Present were 36 members and 4 guest, Ray Normandeau, Ed Martin, Stephanie & Cesar Garvida. The Club welcomed new members Dick Dangler, Ann Donoghue, Alan & Bridgite Fell, Joan Heltsley, Patti and Jack Olinger.

Minutes from February meeting were read and motion to approve by Frank Reiter, 2^nd by Gary Koster. Treasurer reported checking account balance of $1036.53 and savings of $51.71

Dave Whittle gave a great presentation last month of his products and if any member would like to order the software, Don Weston has the order forms.

Don is having problems with sending e-mail, or replying to e-mail. Major problem appears with AOL subscribers. At this time 124 notices were blocked. Don asked that as the customer we call AOL and complain.

Don Bennett and Ben Skversky will check at FACUG conference to see how other groups have dealt with this problem and setting up wireless in clubhouse.

Instructors for SIG classes were asked to give a synopsis for March classes.

Don Bennett, Herb Sapirman, Les Cole, Ben Skversky, Eleanor Weston covered Windows XP Basic, MS Excel basic, AOL, MS Access for beginners, Back up and Basic computing for beginners.

Meeting was adjourned. Smart Computing Magazine then gave their presentation.  New monthly issue of Smart Computing was given to all attendees as well as a variety of excellent door prizes.

Respectfully submitted, Ruth Bevis, Secy.

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High Vista Computer Club

Minutes For January 8, 2004

Don Weston, President, called the meeting to order at 7:32 p.m. There were 33 members in attendance. Don welcomed the following new members into the Club: Sue Campbell, Sharon Kibbee, Sandy Cadwallader and Gary Snyder. Our guests were Kathleen Allacher, Joan Heltsley and Paul Herger. The Computer Club now has 102 paid members. Don welcomed Ruth Bevis back after her surgery.

Eleanor Weston was asked to read the December 4, 2003 minutes as Irene Pultz, our Acting Secretary, was out with the flu. Jim Carroll made a motion to approve the minutes, seconded by Roger Hollenbaugh. The December 31, 2003 balance in the checking account was $622.84, and the savings account balance was $51.56.

A Board members meeting was held on December 12, 2003 at 4:00 p.m. in the Clubhouse. In attendance were Don Weston, Ray Ballou, Don Bennett, Ben Skversky, Irene Pultz and Eleanor Weston. The minutes to that meeting were read by Eleanor. Several items were brought up during this meeting to which Don Weston answered. They were:

·        It was determined we needed an instructor’s desktop computer with Windows XP and wireless card installed in addition to a 15” flat panel monitor. In addition a wireless Linksys Router was installed in the supply room.

·        Don Myers, the Webmaster of the Community Website, has decided to fully fund this website on his own.

·        Copy machine in the card room had disrupted a SIG class. This was brought to the attention of the Communication Committee and they suggested putting a sign up during the classes as well as a notice in the Newsletter stating the copy machine is not available while classes are in session.

·        January calendar for SIG classes was emailed to all members on January 1, 2004. It was felt the calendar should be sent out monthly as on ongoing practice in order for members to plan ahead.

·        New instructors are always needed and members are encouraged to volunteer.

·        Possible new classes were discussed.

Don Weston will email open dates for classes each month to instructors and instructors will email Don as to which class they would like to teach, date and time.

Don expressed urgency of keeping Norton/McAfee Anti-virus programs with live updates. He had heard from several people in the community that they have never done this and their computers are crashed by viruses.

Another concern was Spam Blockers software, which has been preventing emails from being delivered. The solution to this is to have clockman@tampabay.rr.com in each of your address books in order for you to receive Computer Club and High Vista Community emails.

During the Q&A, other than solving problems with computer Club members during this session, it was highly suggested that a SIG class be offered on setting up a wireless system.

A SIG class on “Back up your PC” will be offered in February as this was strongly suggested by the membership.

Don Bennett assisted by Don Weston gave a demonstration of the wireless system setup.

Respectfully submitted,

Eleanor Weston, for Acting Secretary Irene Pultz

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