Geeks on Tour Newsletter July 2011: Hands-On Classes, Jupiter Jack, Windows 7 Show Desktop, Dropbox Newsletter

Published: Sun, 07/31/11

Geeks on Tour

State Road covered bridge In July we explored some back roads of Ohio including covered bridges and wineries.  Then we were off to Vermont for the FMCA NE Area Rally (NEAR.)  We taught 5 different seminars plus our new hands-on Picasa Photo Editing workshop.  After our Facebook seminar, we were happy to get comments (on our Facebook page!) from people saying that attending the seminar taught them what they needed to know for using Facebook.

Upcoming Tour Dates

Now we are on our way to Madison, Wisconsin for the Family Motorcoach Ass'n (FMCA) Convention.  We will be presenting 9 different seminars and 2 Hands-on Photo Editing Workshops.  See our Event page for details.

The hands-on class is limited to 20 participants and you must register ahead of time at the rally.  The $40 fee includes a USB 'thumb' drive with sample photos, tutorial videos and a detailed workbook.

Here's our schedule for the rest of the summer.


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Geeks on Tour Members' Forum

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Our Q&A Forums are a good place to ask questions (anyone can read the topics, you must be a paid member to ask a question.)  We promise to respond to any questions posted here, and we have several active members who also respond with valuable information as well.  Here are a few topics from the past month.


Hands-On Computer Classes

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"Tell me and I'll forget.  Show me and I may remember.  Involve me and I'll understand"
a Chinese proverb popularized by Benjamin Franklin.

Today, as Geeks on Tour, we believe that hands-on is the best way to learn. It's just more expensive,and more difficult to arrange, so we create our tutorial videos as the next best alternative.  Whenever possible however, we do schedule a hands-on class.  We just delivered our first ever Photo Editing Workshop - a hands-on class with Picasa.  And, we also offer a hands-on class on computer basics for Windows.  We call that our Computer Boot Camp, or 'Camp ReBoot.'

  • Picasa  Photo Editing Workshop is being offered twice at the FMCA in Madison
    Thursday, August 11 at 4:30
    Friday, August 12 at 4:30
  • Computer Boot Camp aka 'Camp Reboot' is being offered at
    Escapade in Gillette, Wyoming August 26-28
    Gypsy Journal Rally in Celina, Ohia September 23-24

Read the complete article for more details ...


Dashboard Entertainment Center with Droid and Jupiter Jack

DSCN0659We are using our Droid Smart Phones more and more for applications involving sound.  Internet radio stations give us our music, NPR podcasts give us our hourly news updates, RV related podcasts keep us in touch, and the Droid's navigation is often our top choice.  The only issue is sound.  This tiny device called the Jupiter Jack plugs into the phones audio out jack and transmits thru the dashboard radio. 

Read the complete article for more details ...

 


Windows 7 Tip: The Show Desktop Bar

Fullscreen capture 7312011 32419 PMEver wonder why, with Windows 7, your screen seems to just disappear for no good reason?  It can be quite disconcerting.  Until you know what is doing it.  Read the complete article ...

 

 

 


Dropbox: Free Synchronizing Among Computers

dropboxEver since I can remember, I've wanted an easy way to work with the same files on multiple computers.  I started my computer training center in 1983 with 12 Apple 2e computers.  I didn't have a computer that was my own - they were all designated for the classroom.  So, I kept my files on the 5 1/4 inch floppy disks, and carried the disks with me from computer to computer.

Technology has changed so much, now - we copy files to a USB 'thumb' drive to carry them from computer to computer!  Until we discovered Dropbox.com.

Using Dropbox.com you can

  1. Start working on a file at home on your desktop computer, continue working on the same file on the road with your laptop
  2. Share a folder for a team of people to collaborate on project files, even when those people are spread all over the country
  3. Work on a file locally when you have no Internet connection, and it automatically synchronizes to the web and other shared team members when you do get online.
  4. Create a group photo album where everyone automatically gets a copy of the pictures on their computer - not just a shared web album.
  5. Start working on a file on your laptop, continue working on the same file on your iPad or Android smartphone.

Read the complete article


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