Toledo PC Users’ Group
A Forum for Personal-Computer Users — March, 2008
March Program: Buying over Internet
Monday, March 3, 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
Computer-Investing-Group Meeting
TOLTBBS Information
TPCUG’s
Website:
http://www.toledopcug.net
Coming Meeting: Monday,
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.
The President's Message:
Having been born in 1929 your Prez will be 100 years old in 2029. I'm glad that machines will have caught up with me by then, but I gurss I won't be alive to experience or if I am then I can turn my life over to a machine and go off and live in la-la land.
Machines
to match man by 2029By Helen Briggs, Science reporter, BBC News, Boston Machines will achieve human-level artificial intelligence by 2029, a leading US inventor has predicted.
Humanity is on the brink of advances that will see tiny robots implanted in people's brains to make them more intelligent, said Ray Kurzweil.
The engineer believes machines and humans will eventually merge through devices implanted in the body to boost intelligence and health.
It's really part of our civilization, Mr Kurzweil explained.
But that's not going to be an alien invasion of intelligent machines to displace us.Machines were already doing hundreds of things humans used to do, at human levels of intelligence or better, in many different areas, he said.
Man versus machine
I've made the case that we will have both the hardware and the software to achieve human-level artificial intelligence with the broad suppleness of human intelligence including our emotional intelligence by 2029, he said.
We're already a human-machine civilisation; we use our technology to expand our physical and mental horizons and this will be a further extension of that.Humans and machines would eventually merge, by means of devices embedded in people's bodies to keep them healthy and improve their intelligence, predicted Mr Kurzweil.
We'll have intelligent nanobots go into our brains through the capillaries and interact directly with our biological neurons, he told BBC News.The nanobots, he said, would
make us smarter, remember things better and automatically go into full emergent virtual-reality environments through the nervous system.Mr Kurzweil is one of 18 influential thinkers chosen to identify the great technological challenges facing humanity in the 21st century by the US National Academy of Engineering.
The experts include Google founder Larry Page and genome pioneer Dr Craig Venter.
NEW YORK (AP)—Hands cramping up from too many video games?
How about controlling games with your thoughts instead? Later this year, Emotiv Systems Inc. plans to start selling the $299 EPOC neuroheadset to let you do just that.
The headset's sensors are designed to detect conscious thoughts and expressions as well as non-conscious emotions by reading electrical signals around the brain, says the company, which demonstrated the wireless gadget at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.
The company, which unveiled a prototype last year, says the headset can detect emotions such as anger, excitement and tension, as well as facial expressions and cognitive actions like pushing and pulling objects.
The headset will be sold with a game developed by Emotiv, but it can also be made to work with existing PC games, the company said. Users will also be able to access an online portal to play more games, chat or upload their own content such as music or photos.
Emotiv plans to work with IBM Corp. to explore applications beyond video gaming. The brain-computer–interface technology could transform not only gaming, but how humans and computers interact, said Paul Ledak, vice president of IBM's Digital Convergence business.
If the Toledo PCUG is alive and kicking in 2029, I'm sure there will be a need for such an organization to understand and and help the membership to function in such a technical climate.
Such a meeting is or will be on the first Monday night of the month. Thus we will see you there.
Remember—Visitors are welcome—Members are expected.
Your Prez, Floyd L. Miller
Minutes
The meeting was called to order at 19:39 by F. Miller, pres.
The minuites were accepted.
The treasurer s report, balance $854.14, was accepted, subject to audit.
Seven members were present, and one visitor.
L. Miller said that for March he wants something about purchasing over the Internet. It was pointed out that our president, F. Miller, has experience in it, in buying from eBay and others. He talked about a late purchase, an HP3310, with big ink tanks that stay put, from which tubes feed the ink to the printing head. It has five colors. It would be a very good printer, but that it tends to paper jams, because the rollers do not fully grip the paper. Soap helps, but not enough. He got it from Overstock.com. Maybe he will talk of his experiences.
There was no old bizness.
New bizness:
T. Tenney pointed out that the coming meeting falls on an election-day eve. But others said that in such case, if the meeting amongst the voting machines is not allowed, it often is held in an upstairs room.
Halász complained that he no longer gets expirations in time for putting them into the newsletter. S. Tryc, L. Miller, and F. Miller offered help.
Respectfully submitted by Sándor Halász, secretary.
Treasurer’s Report
Balance Ending 1/15/08
Balance Ending 2/15/08
Steve Tryc, treasurer
Computer Investing Group
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.
NWBC Directors' Favorite Stocks, April 14, 7-8:30 pm, Sanger Branch Library, 3030 W. Central Avenue, Toledo, OH. Cost $15. Register by April 7.
Several of our directors will present their favorite stocks using the Stock Selection Guide with their analyses. For more information, contact Marilyn Adams by email or 419-865-6061.
BI-NWBC Roadshow 2008, May 3, 9am-3:30pm, McMaster Center, Toledo Main Library, 325 N. Michigan, Toledo OH. Cost $40 (if three or more register in same envelope, $30 each). Register by April 26. Box lunch included.
The speakers are noted BI educators: Ann Cuneaz, Education Program Manager at BetterInvesting and teacher at many BI conferences, and Ken Kavula, North Central Regional coordinator and driving force behind the BI Regional Conferences held in Michigan for the last three years. Ann's topics are Estimating Earnings using the Preferred Procedure and Warnings and Red Flags not on the Stock Selection Guide. Ken's topics are How to do an Industry Study and Stock Research and Tips on Managing an Investment Club Efficiently. For more information, contact Carolyn Nies by e-mail or 419-472-8455.
Annual Meeting and Award Dinner, June 11, 6-8pm, Highland Meadows Golf Club, 7455 Erie, Sylvania, OH. Cost $28 for the buffet dinner; cash bar. Register by June 4.
Our speaker will be Matthew Faltys, Vice President & Director of Portfolio Management at Fifth Third. You may recognize him from television or radio. His topic will be Financial Markets: Update, Outlook and Challenges. For more information, contact Carolyn Nies by e-mail or 419-472-8455.