Diary 2007

A surprisingly good turnout for today's meeting. I say surprising because many people said they would be away for this months meeting. Oh well joy and bliss. Today we  (the committee)  had a chance to sit back and relax somewhat, while the members watched a presentation video about "XARA EXTREME" (clicking the link opens a new window). Quite a few comments about its qualities and simplicity of use. The two video's and the official members meeting agenda took up most of the first part of the meeting.

The second part of the meeting was again handed over to Bob Lightsey who continued his session on Wireless Networking. A more relaxed "Bob" made the necessary connections and brought home the true spirit of PLUGIT. A letter of thanks has been sent to Bob for his very comprehensive demonstrations.

That's it for this year as December of often full of Dinners, Dances and Xmas lunches we don't meet again until 22nd January 2008. So I wish all the members and visitors A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

23rd October 2007

This mornings meeting was a very relaxing coffee morning event with 36 members and several guests. The meeting started with question and answers from the floor. It never ceases to amaze me, how quickly members raise their hand to ask about minor irritations they have about their computers or software, and how many members can answer the question and give opinions about various aspects of computing. A momentary pause for coffee, gave members a little time to chat and introduce our guests,(prospective new members) to existing members.

The second part of the meeting was given over to (member) Mr Bob Lightsey, who gave a detailed overview of "Networking" both wireless and wired. Many thanks to Bob for taking the time to take away the apprehension and trepidation about the networking systems in Windows.

Part 2 of the demonstration will continue in November and should culminate in a connection to the web, live and wirelessly.

25th September 2007

Today was a full meeting of the Plugit membership. After covering the essential proposals and seconds of the items on the agenda, the group discussed the pro's and con's of Windows Vista operating system. Several members said they had tried the system and liked it (once they got to know their way around) others were a little less complimentary about its origin. Things are moving forward, now that the support for Vista is increasing (however slowly) and members agreed that given another 6 months or so, there maybe enough reason for a change. Needless to say, a break for coffee was well in order. After the break Howard demonstrated a way to create simple drawings entirely within MS Word. A copy of the demonstration is now available for download should you wish to "have -a -go". The meeting closed at mid-day

28th August 2007

A really good turnout for the August meeting. It seems that "coffee mornings" hold the same popularity as the full meetings. Today, in the first session we revealed the secrets of how to download pictures from a camera and burn them on to CD 's or DVDs. After the coffee break we tackled the mysteries of "Tables in Word" and moving the margins to create artificial page splits i.e., half page, quarter page etc. The meeting, in conclusion, rounded off with some useful suggestions from the membership. - A good time seemed to be enjoyed by all.

24th July 2007

Despite the recent rain and floods, was memorable for the little ray of sunshine which descended on the Bacchus Hotel, when 40+ members and guests turned up for the monthly meeting. It warms the heart to see so many people just "making the effort". The July meeting was a full meeting, with treasurers reports and reports on Equipment and Web activity, Many thanks are given to Aubrey Phillips who co-ordinates these meetings and ensures that things run smoothly.

July's demonstration was how to scan photographs into the computer and how to write them to disk afterwards.

26th June 2007

Today gave us another remarkable meeting. Creating Lists, Databases and Letters was the order of the day and much fun was had both doing the presentation; and from the members point of view, a little hilarity with the mistakes and typos which were created.

Once again proving that learning can be fun and nothing should be too serious for any of us the download is now available.

22nd May 2007

Today marked another successful meeting in the bag. This meeting was a "full" meeting where we had the agenda to flow through covering things like the confirmation of the minutes, treasurers report (including the reminder that Subs are now due) and an update on the website and a report about the equipment belonging to PLUGIT. After the coffee break 30 plus members joined in to combine our knowledge about Microsoft Word and the menus. The power point presentation entitled Plugit May 2007 is available as a download. Thanks to all the members and visitors who attended the meeting we look forward to next months meeting on 26th June 2007.

24th April 2007

The meeting held at the Bacchus on 24th April 2007 was a little different to the usual event inasmuch as Howard had to announce the departure of Terry as both Chairman and Member from the club. The first demonstration was a continuation of the Plug-it Theme "Back To Basics" where gaining the most from the File menu was demonstrated and explained. After the coffee break Howard described a "Boot up" process of Single User/Single Task computer and then a Multi User/Multi Task computer; using volunteers as the peripheral devices and processor.

27th March 2007

The Annual General Meeting on 27th March 2007, again scored another WOW, purely for the fact we had a turnout of Approximately 84% of the membership + 4 visitors. I don't know if this is a record but it was very nice to see people relaxed and ready to enjoy what was our 9th AGM. After the preliminaries such as reading the minutes and treasurers report, we re-elected members of the committee and elected another two persons to the committee. After the coffee break, the Chairman delivered his annual speech giving his submission on how well the members of the group had "taken in" the information delivered in the various demo's throughout the year. This was followed by the Chairman's demonstration on how to "Clean up" the "My Documents" Folder and any other folders which may need the same treatment. This Demo is now available on the downloads Page

27th February 2007

WOW again......

Another excellent turn-out by the members, loads of feedback and some interesting points brought to the attention of the committee for further investigation.

This month was a full meeting where the first half of our session is taken up by formal requirements of the club. The main point being the announcement of next months AGM.

The second half (or post coffee session) was dominated by "Windows Vista": Does the club need it?

Howard used a Power point presentation (downloadable from the download page) for much of his talk on the comparisons between the different versions of "Windows Vista". General discussion took place on the need for updating operating systems and, was the "NEW" Operating system, worth the money? Microsoft seemed to have missed the mark for most of us and Howard thought the cost of all the packages are a little excessive to say the least.

Next months meeting, as well as being the AGM we will see Terry continuing the theme of Back to Basics. I hope you will join us for what promises to be an exciting year.

23rd January 2007

WOW.......

What a turn-out for the first meeting of the year plus an unprecedented 14 additional visitors. What a great meeting it was.... A triumph by any standards.

The meeting started off with the usual welcome to all who attended today's informal coffee morning, and a brief overview of what 2007 would mean to Plugit members. We focus on the absolute beginner, those who have only recently been "dragged" into the world of computing by their children and grandchildren. The committees aim for the year is "Back to Basics".

Today's meeting taught the use of the mouse and how to get the most out of the mouse buttons an the menu's which they produce.

We showed how to change the "Desktop" to the way it suits you, and how to cut down the "Clutter" which accumulates on the desktop over a period of time.

We showed how to "Add" shortcut icons to the desktop and the demonstrated the importance of the start menu.

One of the many practical demonstrations was how to add a "user account" to the computer so that when the Grand children come to visit they don't upset all your settings.

The mystery of "How to change the font size" on your desktop was unveiled and after considerable "wailing and gnashing of teeth", we were able to change it back to its original size.

The first meeting of the year was hailed a success by those who attended and (we hope) we will have even more members and visitors on 27th February's meeting.

You don't need to be a member to come along to our meetings but we do encourage visitors to show their commitment by joining as a full member.