Toledo PC Users’ Group
A Forum for Personal-Computer Users — February, 2008
February Program: Apple (Macintosh)
Monday, February 4, 2008 at 7:30 PM, UAW-Local-14 Hall, Jackman & Northover (between Laskey & Alexis Rd), Toledo, Ohio.
In
This Issue ...
TPCUG Data
From the Prez
Minutes
Treasurer’s Report
Membership Expirations
Computer-Investing-Group Meeting
Mobile-phone radiation wrecks your sleep
TOLTBBS Information
TPCUG’s
Website:
http://www.toledopcug.net
Coming Meeting: Monday,
March 3, April 7, May 5, June 2, July 7, August 4, September 8, October 6, November 3, December 1.
The Toledo PC Users’ Group
P.O. Box 13085
Toledo, OH 43613
Officers
President: Floyd Miller
Vice-President: Rick Snyder
Treasurer: Steve Tryc
Secretary: Sándor Halász
Standing Committees
Computer Shows: Steve
Tryc
Librarian: Open
Membership: Roy Ballogg
Programs:
Lester Miller
Public Relations: Lavern & Eugene
Curtis
Complaint Dept.: Helen Waite
SIG Leaders
Internet SIG: Jim Bell ............ 419-877-1109
Statement of Intent: The Toledo PC Users’ Group is a not-for-profit corporation, formed to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and information regarding the use and enjoyment of personal computers.
Affiliations: TPCUG is a member of APCUG (Association of Personal Computer User Groups), which provided the APCUG logo.
Meetings:
Meetings are generally held the first Monday of each month, at
UAW-Local-14-Hall, 5411 Jackman Rd., Toledo, OH. In the event of
emergency, members may be reached during meetings at a pay phone in
the hall, 419-473-9571.
Visitors are always welcome at monthly
meetings!
Executive-Board meetings are generally held
after the regular monthly meetings.
Membership: Dues are $25. per year. To obtain an application, call any officer or member.
Moving? Notify the Membership Chair to redirect your newsletters.
Copyright 2008: The Toledo PC Users’ Group, the publisher of this newsletter, is a not-for-profit organization. Although it asserts a copyright for the newsletter, permission is granted to reprint this publication in whole or in part for any noncommercial use, with credits acknowledged.
Newsletter Deadline is the 15th of each month. All members are encouraged to contribute articles and reviews for this newsletter. Submissions may be made by email to the editor.
Advertizing: Business cards (2”×3½”) will be run in three issues for $5. Commercial ads: $10 for ¼ page; $20 for ½ page; $30 for ¾ page; $40 for full page. Larger ads are run in two issues from a graphics format, JPEG or GIF or … Members may place free ads for the sale of computer-related personal items on a space-available basis. Contact editor for details.
Production Notes: This newsletter was compiled with Microsoft Word 6 for Windows, Open Office 1.1.5, Brief, and Notepad.
TPCUG Mailing List: If you have e-mail, keep in touch with club doings by subscribing to the TPCUG mailing list.
Message from the President
You are going out the door and the last words you hear are
Don't forget the milk!!Believe it or not, that is a website, www.rememberthemilk.com, which is an on-line to-do list. You can set up events and tasks and then set the site to alert you through e-mail or text messaging when the task or event is due. You can even set it up to remind you an hour or more beforehand. Remember The Milk can also send you a reminder through instant messengers such as AIM (AOL Instant Messenger), GduGadu, Google Talk, ICQ, Jaber, MSN , Skype and Yahoo.Rather than risk forgetting, you can simply phone Jott. It is a service that allows you to call your Jott Number and leave a message. Jott then transforms the message into a text email that will be waiting for you at work the next day. You can also email others with reminders.
You can also get updates on other personal information, such as finances. Mint is an online personal-finance organizer that helps you keep track of balances on any of your accounts. It will send you e-mail or mobile alerts when you have a low balance, when credit-card bills are due, and if the available credit on any of your cards drops below a certain prespecified amount. If you are over one of your budgets you set for yourself, you will receive a notification, if your bank charges you a fee for services, if you make a large purchase, or if you make a large deposit.
Information from Smart Computing, Feb '08, Plugged In section by Tessa Warner Breneam.
Smartphones haven't quite replaced notebook computers, but the newest generation of devices is certainly making them more dispensable for more people in more situations. For anyone who needs to be connected to their office all of the time, the smartphone has become an essential part of everyday life. Some say that this is a bad thing, but that's the speed of business today, folks. Many professionals have relied heavily on smartphones for a number of years (have you ever seen the meltdown that ensues when someone loses their CrackBerry, I mean, BlackBerry?), and now consumers are starting to crave more advanced cell phones.From WaveWire by Tobin Smith, 02/04/08
So it is that we can be Plugged In
24×7 and thus never have a private moment or a minute
to sleep resulting from having all those bigger or mid-sized or smaller black (or whatever-colored)
boxes with all the bells and whistles. I surmise that none in the Toledo PC Users' Group have
succumbed to such at this point, but some wise choice of combinations might be
helpful.
Goodness knows the Toledo PC Users' Group is helpful in every monthly meeting. So reserve the first Monday evening for the group to share a new idea or discovery or to take away one.
Your Prez., Floyd L. Miller
Phone makers' own scientists discover that bedtime use can lead to headaches, confusion and depression
By Geoffrey Lean, The Independent s Environment Editor
Published 20 January 2008
Radiation from mobile phones delays and reduces sleep, and causes headaches and confusion, according to a new study.
The research, sponsored by the mobile phone companies themselves, shows that using the handsets before bed causes people to take longer to reach the deeper stages of sleep and to spend less time in them, interfering with the body's ability to repair damage suffered during the day.
The findings are especially alarming for children and teenagers, most of whom – surveys suggest—use their phones late at night and who especially need sleep. Their failure to get enough can lead to mood and personality changes, ADHD-like symptoms, depression, lack of concentration and poor academic performance.
The study—carried out by scientists from the blue-chip Karolinska Institute and Uppsala University in Sweden and from Wayne State University in Michigan, USA—is thought to be the most comprehensive of its kind.
Published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Progress in
Electromagnetics Research Symposium and funded by the Mobile Manufacturers
Forum, representing the main handset companies, it has caused serious concern
among top sleep experts, one of whom said that there was now more than
sufficient evidence
to show that the radiation affects deep sleep
.
The scientists studied 35 men and 36 women aged between 18 and 45. Some were
exposed to radiation that exactly mimicked what is received when using mobile
phones; others were placed in precisely the same conditions, but given only
sham
exposure, receiving no radiation at all.
The people who had received the radiation took longer to enter the first of the
deeper stages of sleep, and spent less time in the deepest one. The scientists
concluded: The study indicates that during laboratory exposure to 884 MHz
wireless signals components of sleep believed to be important for recovery from
daily wear and tear are adversely affected.
The embarrassed Mobile Manufacturers Forum played down the results, insisting—
at apparent variance with this published conclusion—that its results were
inconclusive
and that the researchers did not claim that exposure caused
sleep disturbance
.
But Professor Bengt Arnetz, who led the study, says: We did find an effect
from mobile phones from exposure scenarios that were realistic. This suggests
that they have measurable effects on the brain.
He believes that the radiation may activate the brain's stress system, making
people more alert and more focused, and decreasing their ability to wind down
and fall asleep
.
About half of the people studied believed themselves to be electrosensitive
,
reporting symptoms such as headaches and impaired cognitive function from
mobile phone use. But they proved to be unable to tell if they had been exposed
to the radiation in the test.
This strengthens the conclusion of the study, as it disposes of any suggestion that knowledge of exposure influenced sleeping patterns. Even more significantly, it throws into doubt the relevance of studies the industry relies on to maintain that the radiation has no measurable effects.
A series of them—most notably a recent highly publicised study at Essex University—have similarly found that people claiming to be electrosensitive could not distinguish when the radiation was turned on in laboratory conditions, suggesting that they were not affected.
Critics have attacked the studies' methodology, but the new findings deal them a serious blow. For they show that the radiation did have an effect, even though people could not tell when they were exposed.
It also complements other recent research. A massive study, following 1,656
Belgian teenagers for a year, found most of them used their phones after going
to bed. It concluded that those who did this once a week were more than three
times—and those who used them more often more than five times—as likely to
be very tired
.
Dr Chris Idzikowski, the director of the Edinburgh Sleep Centre, says: There
is now more than sufficient evidence, from a large number of reputable
investigators who are finding that mobile phone exposure an hour before sleep
adversely affects deep sleep.
Dr William Kohler of the Florida Sleep Institute added: Anything that disrupts
the integrity of your sleep will potentially have adverse consequences in
functioning during the day, such as grouchiness, difficulty concentrating, and
in children hyperactivity and behaviour problems.
David Schick, the chief executive of Exradia, which manufactures protective
devices against the radiation, called on ministers to conduct a formal public
inquiry
into the effects of mobile phones.
Minutes
The meeting was called to order at 19:48 by F. Miller, pres.
The minutes were accepted.
The treasurer s report (no activity) was accepted.
Seven were present, an old member among them. [ed: important football game: OSU vs LSU.]
L. Miller said that for February he has Apple (Macintosh) in mind; for March someone from Owens CC about Internet scams.
There was no old bizness.
New bizness:
S. Tryc said that Jim Bell sent no Internet-service bill.
The Internet SIG meets on Monday evening, sevenish. Those who are at Reynolds-Dorr, at the Asbury Church, may go in one car.
The meeting was adjourned at 20:09.
Respectfully submitted by Sándor Halász, secretary.
Treasurer’s Report
Balance Ending 12/15/07
Balance Ending 1/15/08
Steve Tryc, treasurer
Expired & Expiring Memberships
Computer Investing Group
Prospector and Online Screening Tools
02/02/2008, 2-4 pm
Heatherdowns Public Library, 3265 Glanzman, Toledo, OH 43614
Cost: free. All are welcome. No reservation needed.
How do you find stocks to study? Screening tools allow you to narrow your search to focus on the cream.
Stock Prospector is a BetterInvesting tool with great flexibility. We’ll discover how to use it and customize the searches for your priorities.
Next we’ll look at some of the online screeners that are available to everyone. Please bring along your favorite screening sites to share.
Bring your laptop to our CIG meetings; the library has free wi-fi available that you can use.
Event Contact: Donna Bardis.