October Program: Teaching-tape

Monday, October 6, 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
TOLTBBS Information

TPCUG’s Website:
http://www.toledopcug.net

Coming Meeting: Monday,
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: Sándor Halász
Programs: Lester Miller
Public Relations: Laverne & 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 15^th 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.

President's Message

Grid of 100,000 computers heralds new internet dawn

Murad Ahmed, Technology Reporter

A network of 100,000 computers providing the greatest data processing capacity yet unleashed has been created to cope with information pouring from the world’s largest machine.

The Grid is the latest evolution of the internet and the world-wide web and computer scientists will announce on Friday that it is ready to be connected to the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).

It is designed for schemes where huge quantities of data need crunching, such as large research and engineering projects. The Grid has the kind of power required to download movies in seconds, and the ability to make high-definition video phone calls for the same price as a local call. More importantly, it should help to narrow the search for cures for diseases. However, it is unlikely to be directly available to most internet users until telecoms providers build the fibre-optic network required to use it.

The Grid allows scientists at CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, to get access to the unemployed processing power of thousands of computers in 33 countries to deal with the data created by the LHC.

Scientists at CERN, where the world-wide web was invented, created the €500 million Grid because they realised that a single computer would not be able to cope with the amount of data the LHC is expected to produce each year—15 petabytes, or 15 million gigabytes, which would fill 20 million CDs.

They said that it was an extra facility laid on top of the internet, which originally linked computers around the world in the Seventies.

Dr Bob Jones, a CERN scientist, said “The web allows you to access information on other computers. What the Grid allows you to do is not only access the information, but make use of their computing resources and power”.

He likened it to the National Grid. Users would be able to tap into massive amounts of processing power, but the source of the power would change, depending on availability.

Processing tasks will be distributed between 11 gateway computer centres in ten countries, including Britain, which will share them out between more than 140 sites.

One of the first jobs the Grid will tackle is handling the raw data for CERN’s experiments into finding proof of the Higgs boson, the so-called God particle.

Its uses, however, extend well beyond particle physics and it has already been used on a smaller scale in research into diseases such as malaria and bird flu. “The Grid cannot find a cure for cancer, but what it can do is make it quicker”, said Dr Jones, explaining that what might have taken a decade could now be done in weeks.

David Britton, Professor of Physics at Glasgow University and a leading figure in the Grid project, said “The old traditional way to find cures for diseases is that you would go to the lab and try mixing various drugs and see how they work”.

Don't know how many Group members will be logging on the the giant grid of computers, but we can benefit by the broad opportunities this provides to the segmented communities of research and the availability of facts that will not fit between the covers of a book or a whole set of books.

Still we can log on to many and varied computers and servers and we are the richer for it, but still we need to sense the presence of a person and hear the human voice that is lacking over a land line or other connections. That is one reason why we have monthly meetings of the toledopcug (1st Mon. of Mo.) and the Internet Sig.

Your Prez., floyd l. miller

Minutes

At 19:41 the meeting was called to order by F. Miller, pres.

The minutes were accepted.

S. Tryc reported the balance $887.14. Treasurer s report accepted was accepted, subject to audit.

Seven members were present.

L. Miller suggested a teaching program. R. Snyder suggested computer gaming, noting Miller s interest—but he says he really knows only solitaire.

There was no new, old bizness.

At 20:04 the meeting was adjourned.

Respectfully submitted by Sándor Halász, secretary.

Treasurer’s Report

Balance Ending 8/15/08 $887.14

No income or expense

Balance Ending 9/15/08 $887.14

Steve Tryc, treasurer

Expired & Expiring Memberships

January:
1690 Fowler

July:
1689 Mack

October:
1382 Miller
1506 Tryc

Computer Investing Group

Northwest Buckeye Chapter or Under ▾ Chapter Events choose Ohio - Northwest Buckeye Chapter

Manifest Investing

October 4, Saturday, 2-4 pm; Heatherdowns Public Library, 3265 Glanzman, Toledo, OH. Free, all welcome, and no reservation needed.

We want to introduce you to Mark Robertson's informative website called Manifest Investing. It is a simplified online resource based on BetterInvesting principles and approved by BI. Mark is a long-time BI member and past contributor to BI magazine. It is a pay site, but it may be worth the subscription price to you if you improve your portfolio. Come and decide for yourself.

You can preview the site at www.manifestinvesting.com. If you look at it first, you can come with your questions about it. A free trial is also available for all the features of the entire site.

The library has free Wi-Fi if you would like to bring your laptop.

For more information, contact Donna Bardis by e-mail or at 419-517-3279.