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Greater Tampa Bay PC User Group
Bay Bytes Newsletter
Bay Bytes is the official newsletter of the Greater Tampa Bay PC User Group. Published monthly, Bay Bytes is distributed to club members and selected vendors. Bay Bytes accepts advertising from selected companies at individually negotiated rates.

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Bay Bytes issues on-line

General: The index below is presented in the following format specifically to allow visitors to this page to quickly search for articles of particular interest.

 Search: To locate a specific word or topic in the listings below, in Internet Explorer press Ctrl+F, and then enter your search word or term. Terms do not require quotes. 

Links: Web sites sometimes discontinue or change the location of their pages. As a result, the links provided below, in blue, and within each newsletter issue, are for your convenience, but you may find that some, especially in older issues of the newsletter, are no longer valid.

July 2008 (286KBytes)

February to June, 2008: due to illness, issues of our group's monthly newsletter were temporarily suspended during these months.

        January 2008 (293KBytes)

        December 2007 (409KBytes)

        November 2007 (239KBytes)

October 2007 (177KBytes)

        September 2007 (641 KBytes)

        (August 2007 - no issue was published this month)

July 2007 (321 KBytes)

June 2007 (195KBytes)

  • B.O.O.K. - New Technology - humorous piece on learning how to use a Book, submitted by Al Miller
  • E-Mail - Be Cautious - sensible guidelines to follow when receiving petitions via email
  • "Its All Geek to Me" - notice re new TV series by New York Times columnist David Pogue, as announced by O'Reilly Press
  • O'Reilly School of Technology - information about certificates and courses being offered
  • Kim Komando - list of useful tips offered by the popular Kim Komando's Web site
  • Darry D Eggleston - Brief articles on a variety of current computer and Internet topics
  • Internet - Links to a number of informative and useful Web sites
  • Help - Another listing of 14 Internet sites where one can get computer help
  • Miscellaneous - 10 Web sites for free downloads, demos, and useful articles
  • Vista - Consequences of attempting to use a pirated version of Microsoft's new operating system
  • WebCams Around the World - View what various "Web Cameras" are currently seeing
  • Meeting Minutes - Brief summary of our May 1st General Meeting, featuring Kelly Delaney of CompUSA - Brandon

    •         May 2007 (330 KBytes)

    April 2007 (205KBytes)

    March 2007 (399KBytes)

            February 2007 (249 KBytes)

            January 2007 (664 KBytes) - Editor Don Miller's first issue

    December 2006 (1.5 MBytes) - Editor Dick Evans' final issue!

    • Nominations for 2007 GTBPCUG Officers are listed.
    • Taking full-liberty throughout, Dick begins with a politically-incorrect wish for a Merry Christmas.
    • A reminder about the Christmas Party, scheduled for December 10th at Strawberry Ridge.
    • The final rendition of the 2006 Officers and SIG Leaders.
    • “Dick’s Swan Song”  (you’ll understand)
    • “Editor Dick’s Final Column” pays tribute to the “team” effort which supported our BayBytes publications for the past two years. A fourth head is added to Mt. Blushmore.
    • Jim Jeup’s “Computer  Corner” discusses personalizing Windows XP to match the user’s style.
    • “Change the Default Folder in Windows Explorer,” by Susan Daffron.
    • Review of the book EddieTapp on Digital Photography: Photoshop Workflow Setups, by Doris Barrilleaux, GTBPCUG.
    • Review of the book Stephen Johnson on Digital Photography, by Dick Evans, “temporary” Editor GTBPCUG.
    • “OEM’s Offering Low-cost Vista Upgrades,” by Parker Monroe, Webmaster GTBPCUG.
    • “Digital Photo Goodies in Vista,” by Dave Johnson in PCWorld.
    • Unsolicited praise for both http://darryd.com and http://dmiller900.com .
    • “PGP  To Be Surely Secure: How Pretty Good Privacy Protects Your Data,” by Christian Perry, General Computing.
    • “Microsoft tip: expand the right-click menu,“ by Parker Monroe.
    • “Swissbit – Victorinox Do Everything USB, MP3 Swiss Army Knife” (what every Dad would love for Christmas)  and “Current Hoaxes and Urban Legends,” by Ira Wilsker, APCUG Director.
    • Book review for Windows XP Hacks, 2nd ed., by Chuck Kinsley, P*PcompAS.
    • “Are You A Zombie? How About Your Computer?”  by S. Jack Lewtschuk, MBUG-PC.
    • Warning: you may encounter some “thoughtful” humor throughout. Paul Fix said, “The only reason some people get lost in thought is because it’s unfamiliar territory.” Remember the “liberty” mentioned earlier? Humor is utmost.
    • Dick endorses “Windows Secrets.”
    • Darrell Manns’ is pictured with a pretty presenter Jen Clause (of Smart Computing and Sandhills Publishing), and with a not-so-pretty President for one-more-month, Bill McMullen, as Darrell wins the October Contest. Didn’t Darrell win last month too? Will the new editor continue the contests? Does Lamont Cranston even know?
    • “My Spyware” by Sandy Berger, Compu-KISS.
    • “Turning Off Autoplay”
    • “BlueCoat’s K9 Web Protection,” by Mike Mitchell.
    • “Digitally Enhanced Photos May Be Too Good”
    • “Don’t Forget System Restore,” by Charlie Paschal.
    • Tip: “Windows XP Click Lock”
    • “Internet Fraud,” by Bob Schneider (Florida).
    • “How do I make audio CD’s from MP3s?” from WXP News.
    • “Legal Bytes: Do Shield Laws Extend to Bloggers?” and “Legal Bytes: Fair Use – Wherefore Art Thou Going?” by John Brewer (Oklahoma).
    • A Christmas Song Quiz suggested by DarryD Eggleston, GTBPCUG New Users SIG Leader.

    Second section

    • Tip: “Use Two or Three Browsers for Concurrent Logins,” by the P*PCompAS.
    • “Protect and purge your personal files: Eliminate private documents from your hard drive,” by Alyson Munroe, Microsoft Windows.
    • Some tips from Charlie Vanderford (now a member of The Villages Computer Club): “Print only selected text” and “What is ClearType?”
    • "Verizon FiOS and Cable TV,” by Les Kizer, GTBPCUG.
    • “Traveling with a video camcorder,” by Joseph Asling (California).
    • “To Quote or Not to Quote,” a parody mostly by Peter Ellis, with apologies to Shakespeare. (As a bonus for you observant readers, I offer an authorial anagram: William Shakespeare: I am a weakish speller)
    • Several pages of articles from “The New, The Best, and the Worst” series and a book review of Learn to Program by Chris Pine, by Pim Borman (Indiana).
    • Several articles by Kim Komando addressing: “Test your telephone; Getting a grip on flash drives; Organize IE favorites; digital camera accessories; Removing a hard drive partition; Write on Web pages; XP toys and tools; Silencing a loud computer; SIW: System information from your thumb drive; Block specific Web sites; Grisoft isn’t pulling its free AVG antivirus program; What size memory card  should you buy; Google as an all-around reference tool; How to use the Clipboard or Bookmarks/Favorites; if links don’t work in OE; Saving a slide show video in AVI format; Keeping track of Intel’s chips; Remove your personal details from online databases; Smilies and spyware.”
    • “Erasing Hard Drives: a guide to surplusing computers and electronic storage devices,” compiled by Napa Valley PCUG.
    • “Google as a Calculator,” by Marc Liron, Microsoft MVP.
    • “Murphy’s Laws of Technology,” from the Internet.
    • “Letters to LateNite (2006),” by Marty Shinko, Capital PCUG, deals with questions about spam.
    • “Surprising New Search Engine,” by Sandy Berger, Compu-KISS, offers several reasons to use  Ixquick, as a leader on privacy issues.
    • A violent video from PC Pit Stop, “Notebook PC explodes under simulated conditions,” submitted by Don Miller, recently nominated 2007 Editor of BayBytes. Quite extraordinary…both the video and Don, that is.
    •  “Tech News” articles by Sue Crane, Big Bear Computer Club.
    • “Downloading a File” and “The Mystery of File Extensions Explained,” by Dave Gerber, APCUG Advisor.
    • “Clear Reading with Cleartype,” by Vinny La Bash (Sarasota)
    • A recommendation for “Gizmo Richards’ Tech Support Alert,” by Your Editor through December.
    • “Old US Mail Scams Updated for the Internet,” by Don Edrington, Chautauqua Cyber Club, Inc.
    • “XP or Visa?” by Elaine Drain (Delaware)
    • Windows lesson: “Rename a File,” by DarryD, who has so many titles, this editor is going to run out of ink.
    • “Backing up Your Computer,” by Parker Monroe.
    • “Distinguishing Forests from Trees in Search Engine Results,” by Gabe Goldberg, APCUG Advisor.
    • “U3 Drives,” by Diane George (California).
    • “Vista changes lock out virus makers,” by Ryan Russell, Editor, Windows Secrets Newsletter.
    • “Safeguarding Your Data,” by Mindi McDowell, US Dept of Homeland Security.
    • “Web 2.0 and the Evolution of the Small Office/Home Office (soho)”  and “Web 2.0 and Portable Computing,” by John Abbott (Texas).
    • “Computing Q&A Board,” by Michael Hanst (Florida).
    • “Fun with Troubleshooting,” by Steve Bass (borrowed from a California newsletter).
    • Don’t worry about the length of the issue. You’ll have two years to read the articles before they’re erased from the archives. …again, Merry Christmas. See you at the party on December 10th!

        November 2006 (1.7 MBytes) - Thanksgiving issue

    Second section

        October 2006 (1.0 MBytes)

    • New members of GTBPCUG are encouraged to begin their journey with us by visiting Don Miller’s sites at http://dmiller900.com and http://dmiller900.com/editor.
    • Charlie Vanderford informs how to send pictures/documents via email attachments, and offers other help in his “For the Newbies” column.
    • “Control your computer cops: What to do when security programs aren’t secure” by Christian Perry, Smart Computing.
    • Sandy Berger from AARP announces “New Web Browsers," “Understanding Bugs and Patches” and “Microsoft Brand Going Live.”
    • 25 years ago - “The IBM PC’s Debut”
    • “Accessing Family Accounts in cases of emergency” by Gabriel Goldberg.”
    • Kim Komando offers “Is PayPal Secure” and “Medline Plus” as well as several digital photography articles: Selecting photo-editing software; "Calling all photo buffs," "Upgrading to a digital SLR camera," "Tips for preserving digital images."
    • “Essential Processes, how can you tell,” by Vinny La Bash.
    • “Some ways to reclaim hard drive space in your computer,” by Frank Lavallee.
    • “Basic Word Processing in WordPerfect,” by DarryD Eggleston.
    • “Adobe Photoshop Elements: Text Basics,” by DarryD Eggleston.
    • DarryD also offers some websites worth visiting.
    • “Who Woulda Thunk,” by Al Miller, shows that sometimes what we think our stupid actions can sometimes be “a very smart thing.”
    • Instructions for making a custom bootable CD, from Fred Langa.

    Second section

    • “Consumer Watch: New-PC Gunk” by Yardena Arar, PC Magazine.
    • Parker Monroe offers quotes from Steve Bass’s column regarding photography.
    • “Web Wanderings,” by Gil Smith, includes topics: "Time Warp," "Get Google’s Gmail," and "G is for Google."
    • “What is Spyware,” by Anton Chuvakin, a security strategist with a major information security company.
    • “Windows Vista: a Preview,” by Brian K. Lewis.
    • “Ram and Reason: A Virus and Incident Checklist,” by Rob Rice.
    • “Computer Corner,” by Jim Jeup, investigates “Windows XP Troubleshooting Tips," and "When your computer is running slowly.”
    • “Where did all those photos go? File Management,” by Jack Wilfore.
    • “Send text messages from your computer,” by David Pogue, NY Times.
    • “Printing Better Pictures,” by Robert Sherwood.
    •  “How and why to get Microsoft’s free Image Resizer."
    •  Digital Photography: the Missing Manual (by Chris Glover & Barbara Brundage), released by O'Reilly Press, and reviewed by Dick Evans.
    • “How to shop online more safely,” published by Microsoft and submitted by Parker Monroe.
    • “Email: Use the Bcc: to protect others’ privacy.”
    • “Where to store a backup image,” by Smart Computing.
    • Charlotte Howard won the September monthly contest. Who will win the October contest?
    • Announcement for our GTBPCUG 2006 Christmas Dinner Party, on December 10th, at the Strawberry Ridge Club House. See what you’ll be eating.
    • Highlights and tips from PegEgg Eggleston’s “Lights, Camera, Capture: Buying and Really Using a Digital Camera” presentation on September 5th.
    • October's Meetings schedule.
    • “Leave Them Laughing,” submitted by Mary Ann Clark, offering excerpts from an Irish newsletter.

     

    September 2006 (1.0 MBytes)


    Second section

    August 2006 (737 KBytes) - Secure/protect your PC

    Second Section

    July 2006 (1.1 Mbytes)

    June 2006 (1.9 MBytes)

    May 2006 (1.7 Mbytes)

    • Officers and SIG Leaders, listed on p2.
    • Editor’s column features thoughtful quotes.
    • Several pictures from March and April meetings.
    • Kim Komando columns include info about: checking status of tax refunds; games for iPods; Active X Controls; three Florida banks attacked by hackers; rootkits; whether computers can become infected by streaming; optimizing photos for email; and finding online support groups.
    • Advantages for a Smart Computing subscriber.
    • Allen Wyatt discusses http://wordtips.vitalnews.com/  and 1,600 tips and tricks which can help with “Problems with Microsoft Word.”
    • How to write a cent symbol.
    • “Avoiding Security Risks” by Kraig Lane from Symantec Corp. emphasizes hackers’ motives, phishing, spyware, and best consumer practices.
    • Excel Hacks book review by Jim Butts.
    • “Don Edrington’s PC Chat” includes items about  Google’s Gmail, multi-language spell checking, and other language translation features.
    • Jim Jeup (GTBPCUG) offers “Help and Support in Windows XP.” Find out how “It’s just two clicks away.”
    • Andy Marken, President of Marken Communications Inc., offers do’s and don’ts for appropriate emailing.
    • John Powell offers “Fun in Retirement,” which should bring a smile or three.
    • “Tips for Your Tired Eyes” by Judy Taylour  (Chair of the APCUG Board of Advisors) offers several suggestions.
    • Articles from DarryD Eggleston's ExcelNet News site, which can be found at http://darryd.com  Those featured cover an Al-Jazeera TV telecast; the AC-130U flying gunship in Iraq; MS Office 2007; and Microsoft’s Vista.
    • The May Contest question. April’s contest was won by Darrell Manns, but who will know the May answer?
    • “Paper-Like Electronic Displays Near Market,” by Tracy Staedter and submitted by JB Hickey (GTBPCUG), discusses what may replace the present-day monitors in only three years.
    • Kathy Fry, from Arizona, offers care for inkjet printers and CRT and flat-screen monitors. In the same article, Larry  Smith, from California, offers tips about using the Magnifier and StickyKeys, how to avoid “repeated letterssss” and how to access the start menu without a mouse (XP).
    • Randy Esdon, from Canada, offers “How to Speed up Windows XP.”
    • BayBytes will offer each month some answers to questions submitted by GTBPCUG members which DarryD Eggleston has posted in his “Fast Facts” section of his website http://darryd.com. Visit his archives. This month Your Editor selected subjects like a lost E: drive, quality of DVD vs CD, firewalls, and “screen too big?” (that last topic sounds complicated)
    • Parker Monroe (GTBPCUG Webmaster) offers how to type “International Characters” (XP).
    • Some book opportunities from O'Reilly Press: Wireless Hacks, 2nd ed.; PhotoShop Elements 4 One-on-One; and What is Spyware?
    • May meetings listed. Visit our website for up-to-date information: http://gtbpcug.org  
    • “Where to Find and Delete Useless Files in Windows XP” by Frank Lavallee, (GTBPCUG).

            April 2006 (1.6 Mbytes)