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The Monthly Edition Of The k-Byte Newsletter |
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| v. 25, n. 6, June 2008 | Users Helping Users | |
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The Monthly Edition Of The k-Byte Newsletter |
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| v. 25, n. 6, June 2008 | Users Helping Users | |
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Contents 1 Google Releases Updated Version of "Google Earth" - Ira Wilsker 2 About k-Byte 4 Vista Service Pack 1: What You Need to Know - Sandy Berger 5 Moving on to Vista-Part 6 - Neil Stahfest 6 Calendar of Events 7 The Two Month Activities Calendar 8 Invasion from Earth 9 Tip of the Month - The Excel Hide Command 9 Photo Gallery 10 About Trading Post 10 Have You Seen This? 12 Directions and Map to Meeting Place 12 FRPCUG Contacts Meeting Previews on Page 6:
 Quote of the Month It is one thing to show a man that he is in an error, and another to put him in possession of truth John Locke [1690] Google Releases Updated Version of "Google Earth" by Ira Wilsker, APCUG Director; Columnist, The Examiner, Beaumont, Texas; Radio & TV Show Host, Iwilsker(at)apcug.net WEBSITES: http://earth.google.com http://earth.google.com/download-earth.html - FREE Version http://earth.google.com/tour.html http://earth.google.com/enterprise/earth_plus.html - $20 Plus Version http://earth.google.com/enterprise/earth_pro.html - $400 Pro Version It has been nearly two years since I first (and last) discussed Google Earth in this column. In the ensuing time since the last review, Google has been busy updating and improving the product, adding new features, and improving the graphics. For those who may not be aware, Google Earth is a program that allows the immense Google database of terrestrial and satellite images of the earth, along with amazing images of space, to be utilized and manipulated on the computer. |
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What is new and improved in the recently released Google Earth 4.3 (beta) is demonstrated in an interactive video tour online at http://earth.google.com/tour.html. One of the new features in version 4.3 include what Google calls "Photo-realistic Buildings", where hundreds of buildings in many of the world's major cities are shown in three dimensions (3D). If a building that is displayed "turns purple" when cursoring over it, clicking anywhere on the building will open up a smaller window giving details of the building, and the moniker of the person who created or updated the digital image. |
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The images displayed can be manipulated to zoom in or around them from any angle, effectively creating a dynamic 360 degree panoramic view. These 3D views are not just of cities and buildings, but there are also spectacular images of natural beauties such as mountains, rivers, waterfalls, and canyons. Another new feature on this version is what Google calls "Swoop Navigation" where the user can virtually "Fly seamlessly through the landscape with new navigation controls. Swoop from outer space to street level and leap from one building top to another. Use the look joystick to view buildings as if you were standing right in front of them." |
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Another aspect of the new version is the "Light and Shadow" feature where many of the images can be shown in selected or sequential times of the day, such as displaying a mountain top from sunrise to sunset. On the top of the screen is an optional slider which can be moved with the mouse to display the simulated or realistic image at any chosen time. In some of the more scenic images it appears to show the path of the sun across the sky with the corresponding light and shadows. The new and improved "Street View" that has been previously available online with Google Maps (maps.google.com) is now integrated into Google earth. Google has a fleet of vehicles which cruise major cities taking high resolution 360 degree digital photos as they drive down the streets. With "Street View" the user can virtually visit a city and virtually walk or drive the streets using the mouse instead of a vehicle. Views are literally from the street level showing cars, people, store fronts, intersections, and any other features visible from street level. Using the mouse, the user can cruise the streets just as if he was navigating the city for real. While not yet available for every city, a camera icon, when displayed on a map, will zoom in to a 360 degree panoramic image from street level. Many street level images contain additional camera icons which allow the user to travel seamlessly up a selected street, and the mouse can be used to turn in any direction. |
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The popular features that were in earlier versions of Google Earth have been retained. One that I periodically use is the "Directions" feature, which does not just give traditional driving directions and maps, but also animates the drive by clicking on the play button at the bottom of the driving directions listing. When animated, a detailed sequential zoomed-in satellite image is displayed, with the directions overlaid on the image.
For example, when I requested driving directions from the Examiner offices on Willow Street in Beaumont, to the Bush Airport (IAH) in Houston, the seamless animation in Google Earth showed the street images including real pictures of the highway showing which lane to be in, detailed images of each turn or exit, and high resolution images of the airport. The images are actual photographs, not computer generated images. By seeing the route in exquisite detail prior to a journey may help ease the anxieties of the drive. |
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Once at a destination, it may be helpful to find nearby "points of interest", such as restaurants. By simply entering the word "restaurants" in the "What?" box, and the current address in the "Where?" box, restaurants will be displayed on the Google map. By clicking on the icon displayed for each restaurant, details will be displayed for the selected restaurant in a window overlay. Typical information displayed included the name, address, phone, a hyperlink (if any) to the restaurant website, any reviews that may be available and driving directions "to" and "from" the restaurant. |
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Google Earth does not just provide maps and images of terrestrial and earthly locations, but also includes celestial maps and images. Clicking on the Saturn-looking icon on the top of the screen will open a "Search the Sky" search box. By entering a celestial body or location, such as "Mars", Google Earth will display a sky map with an image of the heavenly body, and also display the current geometric coordinates for those using sophisticated telescopes. |
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The basic version of Google Earth 4.3 (beta) is a free download from earth.google.com. For those desiring more features, Google offers Google Earth Plus for $20, which adds support for a variety of GPS devices (verified support for Magellan and Garmin GPS devices, but can not upload to those devices), improved network performance, and improved high resolution printing. For professional and commercial use Google offers the Pro version for $400. Google Earth is a fascinating utility, and will run on Windows 2000 or XP (Vista is not mentioned), and requires a minimum of 400MB hard drive space, and a video card capable of 1024x768 resolution with a 16bit color depth. An internet connection of at least 128Kb/sec is required. I suggest that readers of this column at least download the free version of Google Earth and simply play with it. Click on the icons at the top of the page, and check and uncheck some of the boxes on the left margin, and experiment with it; do not worry, you can not hurt anything by experimenting with it. Google Earth is one of my favorite "fun" programs. Obtained from APCUG with the author's permission for publication by APCUG member groups. This article has been provided to APCUG by the author solely for publication by APCUG member groups. All other uses require the permission of the author (see e-mail address above).  Published monthly, k-Byte is the official newsletter of the Front Range Personal Computer Users Group (FRPCUG): our mailing address is PMB 152, 305 W. Magnolia, Fort Collins, Colorado 80521. Opinions expressed in k-Byte are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the group or its members. Publication of information in k-Byte constitutes no guarantee of accuracy. Use of any information found in this publication is at the sole risk of the user. Neither k-Byte, nor its officers, nor its editors or contributors assume any liability for damages resulting from use of information in this publication. Submissions Articles, letters and short items of interest on computer-related topics are welcome and encouraged. All items submitted for publication are subject to editing. Send your contribution to the editor via e-mail attachment or submit on disk. If you have questions about a submission, please contact the editor for information. Copyright and Trademark Information k-Byte is copyrighted ©2008 by the Front Range Personal Computer Users Group. The k-Byte logo and the Front Range PC Users Group logo are Trademarked by the Front Range PC Users Group. Unless otherwise noted, other nonprofit users groups may reprint or quote from any articles appearing in k-Byte without prior permission, provided that: a) proper author and publication credits are given; b) that a copy of the publication in which the article appears is sent at no cost to k-Byte at the above mailing address, or emailed to contact(at)frpcug.org; and c) any additional instructions/restrictions contained in the article are followed. User groups wishing to exchange newsletters with FRPCUG are invited to send a copy of their newsletter together with an exchange request. Disclaimer IBM PC, OS/2, Compaq, HP, Dell, UNIX, Windows and other trademarks occasionally mentioned in k-Byte are registered trademarks of International Business Machines, Inc., Hewlett-Packard Corporation, Microsoft, Dell Inc., or their owners respectively. Neither FRPCUG nor its newsletter k-Byte are connected in any way with any manufacturer or seller. Acceptance by FRPCUG of donated products or services from suppliers, or inclusion of a supplier in the FRPCUG Partner list does not imply that any continuing financial support is received or expected by FRPCUG. Nor do such activities imply an endorsement of either the supplier or product or service. Such information is made available to members as a service. Use of any product or supplier found in this publication, or any FRPCUG publication, is at the sole risk of the user. Advertising Classified advertising is free to members for non-business ads. See "About Trading Post" for pricing for camera-ready display ads. Charges for ad makeup from sketches, etc., are available on request. Deadline for camera-ready and classified ads is 45 days prior to the month of publication. For example, ads for the March newsletter must be submitted by January 15th. For pricing and schedules for ad design, connect to contact(at)frpcug.org or kbyte(at)frpcug.org. About FRPCUG FRPCUG is an independent nonprofit computer society, so incorporated with the State of Colorado and open to anyone interested in Windows, or UNIX/LINUX microcomputers. Its purpose is to provide an educational and scientific forum of mutual benefit for members of the micro-computer community. FRPCUG holds a monthly meeting and conducts various special interest groups (SIGs) and seminars. Members have voting privileges, subscription to k-Byte newsletter, and access to SIGs and selected seminars. Annual dues are $25 for individual/family membership ($20 for students) and $50 for corporate/group membership. by Sandy Berger, CompuKISS, http://www.compukiss.com, sandy(at)compukiss.com Microsoft recently released Service Pack 1 (SP1) for Windows Vista. A Service Pack is a rollup of updates, fixes and enhancements. Many techie advisors like to wait to install a new operating system until the first Service Pack is released because it means that the operating system has matured and gotten all the original bugs out. Microsoft says that this Service Pack includes all updates that have been released since the debut of Vista in February 2007, plus additional improvements and better compatibility with some hardware and software. Two things that may be especially useful for Vista users is a purported speed improvement and native support for 802.11n, the latest wireless standard. While you can surf over to the Microsoft website and download the Service Pack right now, you may not want to. Part of the reason for waiting is that some drivers, especially audio drivers are currently adversely affected by SP1. While this problem can usually be easily rectified by reinstalling the problem driver or changing default settings, most average users will not want to encounter these problems. Microsoft realizes that there are some problems with the Service Pack and it is making some moves to make sure that this Service Pack is well received rather than a poke in the eye for Vista, which has already received quite a bit of bad publicity. These moves include the fact that Microsoft won't begin the automatic rollout of the Service Pack via Windows Update until next month. Microsoft has also added some detection code to its update service that will block you from deployment of SP1 if your computer's drivers will be adversely affected. You will only be offered the update if your system can handle it. So the best policy for most users is to just sit back, relax, and wait until the Microsoft Update offers you the SP1 download as part of their update process. If you have been doing automatic updates through Microsoft, you already have most of the important security updates, so there should be no rush to install Service Pack 1. However, some future software may require SP1, so you will want to install it at some point in time. Although some technology reviewers are singing praises for the Vista Service Pack, it is not completely without problems. A small amount of third party software is adversely affected by this Service Pack. It should be noted, that this is not unusual for a Service Pack, since it often makes changes to the core operating system. The list of software that has incompatibility or reduced functionality with SP1 is mostly obscure or old software, Yet, when it comes time to install this Service Pack, you might want to check the Microsoft list of incompatible software at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/935796. As with any important update, you will want to properly prepare your computer before you start the installation. First, backup any important files. If you don't already have a backup system in place, click on the Start button and type in backup to start the Vista backup utility. Remember that the safest place to backup is to an external drive rather than to the internal hard drive. Then, check your hard disk for errors. Double-click on the Computer icon on your desktop, right-click on the main hard drive icon, which is usually C: Select Properties, then, on the Tools tab, click Check Hard Disk for Errors. You may also want to check with your computer manufacturer or hardware vendor to see if you need any updated drivers for Service Pack 1. Last, but not least, give yourself plenty of time for the update. It can take several hours. Luckily, in an effort to make this go smoothly for everyone, Microsoft is offering free support for the installation of Vista Service Pack 1. As far as I know, this is unprecedented. And it is very welcome. Email, chat support, and even phone support is free for problems related to the compatibility and installation of Service Pack 1 until March 18, 2009. You can find these free support options and information at the Microsoft Vista Service Pack 1 Website. Be sure to save this address, just in case you need it. Although this free support is available to everyone, it is not being highly publicized (http://tinyurl.com/2q4xrk ). Obtained from APCUG with the author's permission for publication by APCUG member groups. This article has been provided to APCUG by the author solely for publication by APCUG member groups. All other uses require the permission of the author (see e-mail address above). by Neil Stahfest, Librarian, Tacoma Area PC User Group, Washington, http://www.tapcug.org, ncstahfest(at)msn.com It's easy to lose track of time when you're playing computer games or cruising the Internet. As our computers have improved we tend to use higher screen resolutions to see more detail and, unfortunately, that can cause eye strain. The solution is not to reduce screen resolution but to increase the size of the text. Windows Vista offers an easy way to do this. Click on "Start", then "Control Panel" and then type "adjust font size" in the search box in the upper right corner. A menu choice "Personalization" will appear and right under it you will see "Adjust font size (DPI)". Click on it and a window called "DPI scaling" will appear. You'll see three choices: "Default scale (96 DPI), Larger scale (120 DPI), and a button that says "Customize". The first two choices are pretty clear. In the third choice, if you click "Customize DPI", the "Custom DPI Setting" window will open. Just follow the instruction to increase or decrease the DPI setting to find the setting that works best for you. One question new Vista users ask me is "What happened to the search command?". People who have used Windows XP and previous versions of Windows are used to clicking on the "Start" button and then clicking on the "Search" label on the right side of the menu. Search is still available but Microsoft apparently thought it was more intuitive for us to click on the "Windows" key plus the "F" key (think "Windows find" to remember this). Look at the upper right corner of the window that opens for the "Search Box" and enter the word or phrase that you are looking for. Notice in the line below you have a number of options to limit your search to "All", "E-mail", "Document", "Picture", "Music", and "Other". There is also an "Advanced" selection that allows you to select a range of file dates, locations, names and authors. To close the Search Window you have to click on the red "X" in the top right corner. You might also notice that when you Click on "Computer" (used to be "My Computer") there a search box appears in the top right corner of the window. This feature is universal and appears whenever you open any folder window. It also appears when you click on the "Start" button (the "search line" appears in the menu directly above the Start button). While I'm on the subject of the "Windows" key, the combination of "Windows key plus the "L" key locks your keyboard. Everything you are working on becomes hidden by the login screen and you need to enter your password to continue to use your computer. This feature may be convenient even if you're not trying to hide your work from anyone. My son's cat seems to be fascinated by computer screens and anything blinking or moving on the screen. She frequently jumps up on the desk next to an unattended computer and walks across the keyboard to touch the screen with a paw or her nose. It's cute but sometimes I return to find a program has been suspended or the computer placed in "sleep" mode. For me, "Windows Lock" is protection from pets. Do you use the Vista Sidebar? Some people love it, some don't. There have been complaints of people using the Notes Gadget to store web addresses and they've lost them. Other people have set up their home city in the Weather Gadget only to discover that the program reverts back to Redmond Washington. Gadgets are individual programs that store their own preference files on your hard drive. Anytime you close a "gadget", you lose all the data that you typed into it; addresses, locations, etc. So... either find a better place to store your information or don't click on a gadget's "X" button unless you really want to cease using the gadget. Obtained from APCUG with the author's permission for publication by APCUG member groups. This article has been provided to APCUG by the author solely for publication by APCUG member groups. All other uses require the permission of the author (see e-mail address above). 2008 Graphical Events Calendar June General Forum Meeting We will meet at the Fort Collins Senior Center on Tuesday, June 3rd 7:00 PM Meeting Agenda: 7:00 to 7:15 Announcements 7:15 to 8:00 Open Forum 8:00 to 8:15 Break 8:15 to 9:00 Printer Technology WIN A COPY OF MICROSOFT MONEY FREE DRAWING AT THE JUNE MEETING July General Forum Meeting We will meet at the Fort Collins Senior Center on Tuesday, July 1st 7:00 PM Meeting Agenda: 7:00 to 7:15 Announcements 7:15 to 8:00 Open Forum 8:00 to 8:15 Break 8:15 to 9:00 Annual Hardware/Software Zoo See you at the meetings! Get full membership benefits. If you are not a current member, download an application from http://www.frpcug.org/memberap.htm Future General Forum Meeting Notes If you have recently thought about buying a new printer (or even if you haven't) for home or business use, don't miss the June General Forum meeting. The meeting will provide information on current printer technology: for general use, for printing images, and, perhaps for other uses as well (you will have to attend the meeting to find out). July is the time for the annual Hardware/Software ZOO. Discover what your fellow members have achieved with their computer experiments by viewing their demonstrations at the meeting. If you would like to present a demonstration of your own contact Rick Mattingly or Jim Brogonier by June 22nd (see the contact list on page 11 of this newsletter for phone numbers/email addresses). Future SIG's, Seminars, and Other Meetings Digital Imaging SIG The Digital Imaging SIG is a forum for discussion of digital imaging hardware and software. The meetings are held every 2nd Tuesday of the month at 7:00 PM in the Senior Center Lobby. The meeting format is informal, using the Shop Talk sessions as a basis. For more information, contact Mike Morris at twriterext(at)gmail.com. Desktop Publishing SIG The DTP SIG is a forum for discussion of desktop publishing applications. The meetings are held every 3rd Wednesday of the month at 7:00 PM in the Senior Center lobby. The meeting format is informal, using the Shop Talk sessions as a basis. For more information, contact Mike Morris at twriterext(at)gmail.com. New Technology SIG The New Technology SIG provides advance support for all PC related operating system and telecommunication issues. The meetings are held at 7:00 PM on the third Thursday of each month at Bluebird Manufacturing Inc., 1421 Webster Avenue, in Fort Collins. For more information, contact Chuck McJilton at 970-493-2987. Shop Talk One-on-one assistance. Drop in to the Senior Center lobby on any Saturday (holidays excepted) from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM Board Meeting FRPCUG's executive board meets on Wednesday of the week following the General Forum meeting. All members are welcome and are encouraged to attend. These meetings are held at 7:00 PM in the Staff Board Room of the Fort Collins Senior Center. June 2008 3 FRPCUG General Forum Meeting 7:00 PM 7 Shop Talk 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM 10 Digital Imaging SIG Meeting 7:00 PM 11 FRPCUG Board Meeting 7:00 PM 14 Shop Talk 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM 18 DTP SIG Meeting 7:00 PM 19 New Technology SIG Meeting 7:00 PM 21 Shop Talk 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM 28 Shop Talk 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM July 2008 1 FRPCUG General Forum Meeting 7:00 PM 5 Shop Talk 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM 8 Digital Imaging SIG Meeting 7:00 PM 9 FRPCUG Board Meeting 7:00 PM 12 Shop Talk 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM 16 DTP SIG Meeting 7:00 PM 17 New Technology SIG Meeting 7:00 PM 19 Shop Talk 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM 26 Shop Talk 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM Courtesy of NASA, http://www.nasa.gov Once again, Orson Welles has been proved wrong. But that was 1938, and that famous (infamous?) radio show is still fun to listen to even today. The tiny dot in the center of the photo below is the Phoenix Mars Lander as seen from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. [Historical comments courtesy of your editor--not NASA]  by Mike Morris, Front Range PC Users Group, http://www.frpcug.org In Excel, rows and/or columns can be hidden. The command is located under the Format menu item. There may be any number of reasons to hide rows or columns from view, but one very important reason is to make charts easy to read. It is important for readability (and "understandability"), to include row and columns headings in the range of cells selected (called "source data") when creating an Excel chart. However, if your worksheet has a lot of rows and columns between the headings and the totals you want to include in the chart (a common occurrence), then hiding those "in-between" rows and columns makes for a beter chart. Take the following (small) worksheet as an example:  Suppose you want to create a chart that excludes the GROSS SALES data (an arbitrary decision, but useful for this example). To do that, follow these steps: 1. Select the entire column B (place the cursor over the leter B and click) 2. Click on Format, Column, Hide. Your worksheet should look like this:  3. Select cells A3 to E7. 4. Click on Insert on the menu bar, then on Chart. The Chart Wizard is displayed, with Column the usual default choice. 5. In the Chart Wizard, click on Next. The chart should look like this:  Because you included the column and row heading in the "source data", the chart is properly labeled and easy to understand. There are dollars on the y-axis. The x-axis contains the three items, with the correct labels, from the column headings. Each item displayed on the x-axis has four columns, identiied by the row headings. Conclusion: Selecting only necessary data (by using the Hide command where appropriate), results in automatic creation of an easily readable and understandable Excel chart. |
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Photo Gallery This month's featured photographer: Paul Ostrof, using a Leica DLUX2 Cemetery in a Storm |
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Noncommercial Advertising k-Byte runs classified ads in Trading Post for three consecutive issues. Trading Post ads up to 10 lines (or 70 words) long are free to FRPCUG members and only $10 for non-members. To place an ad in Trading Post contact Rick Mattingly at 970-613-8968 or e-mail to rickmatt(at)q.com. Commercial Advertising Specifications (Per Issue) Full Page (8.5" x 11")*$50.00 Half Page (5.5" x 8.5")*$30.00 Quarter Page (4.25" x 5.5")*$20.00 Business Card (2" x 3.5")*$10.00 We ofer a substantial discount for repeat ads and continuing contracts. For an additional charge we will design your ad for you. Contact Rick Matingly for more information on this service at 970-613-8968 or email to rickmat(at)q.com. *Allow for 0.5 inch margins Courtesy of APCUG, http://www.apcug.net   The Fort Collins Senior Center The Fort Collins Senior Center is located at 1200 Raintree Drive. This site is situated at the northwest corner of the Shields and Raintree Drive intersection, on the north side of the Raintree Shopping Center, and just west of the bank building on the corner of Shields and Raintree (see map at right). Check the marquee at the main entrance for directions to the specific meeting room. |
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| FRPCUG CONTACTS | ||||
| Telephone Area Code 970 | ||||
| FRPCUG Officers | Name | Work | Home | |
| President | Rick Mattingly | 613-8968 | rickmatt(at)q.com | |
| Vice President | Don Anderson | 498-3534 | 482-0943 | doande(at)gmail.com |
| Treasurer | Virginia Febinger | 498-2127 | gingercln(at)comcast.net | |
| Secretary | Jim Bragonier | 484-9061 | james.bragonier(at)comcast.net | |
| k-Byte Staff | ||||
| Editor-in-Chief | Mike Morris | 461-2002 | twriterext(at)gmail.com | |
| Features Editor | Mike Morris | |||
| Other Contacts | ||||
| Membership Coordinator | Jack Linder | 663-2151 | jack(at)frpcug.org | |
| New Technology SIG Leader | Chuck McJilton | 493-2987 | cdmcjs(at)gmail.com | |
| Digital Imaging SIG Leader | Mike Morris | |||
| DTP SIG Leader | Mike Morris | |||
| Publicity | Mike Morris | 461-2002 | twriterext(at)gmail.com | |
| Door Prize Coordinator | John Goldey | 221-0877 | johngoldey(at)juno.com | |
| FRPCUG Fax Line | 493-1408 | |||
| FRPCUG Home Page w/E-Mail | http://www.frpcug.org | |||
| FRPCUG Officer E-Mail | contact(at)frpcug.org | |||
| Membership in the Front Range PC Users Group is $25 per year for individuals and $50 per year for companies. | ||||
| Mail your completed application and payment to: | ||||
| FRPCUG | ||||
| PMB 152 | ||||
| 305 W. Magnolia | ||||
| Fort Collins CO 80521 | ||||
| or join in person at the monthly meeting on the first Tuesday of each month. | ||||
