"Irving Berlin Medley"

COMMENTS AND SCHEDULE PAGE
07/20/03

MIKE'S COMMENTARY
THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE
NEWS & NOTES BY SUE FOUST

MIKE'S COMMENTARY:
It has been a whale of a week, a real whirlwind of a week.  In fact it was kind of like the week before Christmas, but it was July.   At KCnet it was hustle bustle busy doing the regular daily routines plus the added concentrated  focus on the Open House. Eventhough the building is pretty new, everything had to get the spit and polish treatment... often.  There were many things to get put away. Classroom furniture was moved so that the big room would be available for displays and refreshments.  Signs were made, pictures taken and hung, articles written, calls for help placed, and eventually the numerous loose ends were gathered and tied.
Finally it was Wednesday and...well you'll see and read the "Rest of the Story" as you go along in this newsletter.
 

A special thank you goes to the many members of the KCnet Advanced Class for their refreshment donations and their many hours in preparation and serving.
AND 
Thank you Jon Ahrens for the background music.
Thanks to Ken Condo and John Laubscher for the pictures.

KCNET CLASSES:
BEGINNERS:  This is a very basic four session course in basic computer techniques.  There is a per course charge of $20.00 for KCnet members and $25.00 for non KCnet members.  The class size is limited.   Pre registration is required.  Call 893-8111 or come in to KCnet to register before the next sessions.  The class will meet at KCnet.
Skills taught in the beginner classes include mouse techniques like drag and drop, Computer terminology and explanations of basic hardware.
It is not necessary for attendees to have their own computers but it is very difficult to retain
information without practice.  You really would not try to learn to play the piano with out actual keyboard time.
CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE COURSE CONTENT FOR BEGINNERS

INTERMEDIATES:  This is a four session course for those who have mastered beginner skills. There is a per course charge of $20.00 for KCnet members and $25.00 for non KCnet members.  The class size is limited.   Pre registration is required.  Call (893-8111) or come in to KCnet now to register for the next sessions.  The class will meet  at KCnet.
A ton of info is packed into the six sessions.
This course is designed for those who "think they know but don't"  and especially for those who "want to know" more.
CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE COURSE CONTENT FOR INTERMEDIATES

KCnet Users Group:  (formerly know as  "Senior Net Learners" then the "Advanced Class").  The cost for this class is $0.00 for members of KCnet and $2.00 per session for non KCnet members.  There is no set format for the sessions.  Occasionally we will take a specific subject and do a detailed study over a period of successive weeks.  Don't be afraid to ask questions.  The folks that have been attending for awhile are always happy for a review and in most cases new or better ways to do things will surface.  Questions stimulate in-depth exploration with the usual result being an understanding of how and why.
We welcome new attendees from the Intermediate sessions and our forever growing KCnet membership.  This is an advanced group and we cover a lot of territory. We are kind of free flowing.  You never know what will transpire.
It is not necessary for attendees to have their own computers but it sure helps with the learning curve.
KCnet Advanced Class computer knowledge and Advanced Class computer skills are necessary.

OTHER CLASSES:
CLICK HERE FOR ORIENTATION - BEGINNERS - INTERMEDIATE - ADVANCED
CLICK HERE FOR SCANNING - MAC- GENEALOGY - WEB PAGE - EXCEL - WORD - DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY - PHOTO MANIPULATION - OTHER SPECIALTIES

THIS WEEK'S CLASS SCHEDULE:
We are gearing up class offerings because the extensive renovation project has come to a conclusion.  In other words, we are renovated.

Orientation to KCnet
One-Session Class – No Charge for KCnet Members
Third Wednesday of Every Month 6:00 – 8:00 pm

Internet and Email
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1:00-3:00 pm
August 5, 7, 12, 14
Four Session Course - $20.00 KCnet Members; $25.00 Non Members

Internet and Email
Tuesdays and Thursdays 1:00-3:00
September 9, 11, 16, 1
Four Session Course - $20.00 KCnet Members; $25.00 Non Members

Beginner
Tuesdays and Thursdays,  9:00-11:00 am
July 29, 31, August 5, 7
Four Session Course - $20.00 KCnet Members; $25.00 Non Members

Beginner
Mondays and Wednesdays, 1:00-3:00 pm
September 8, 10, 15, 17
Four Session Course - $20.00 KCnet Members; $25.00 Non Members

Intermediate
Mondays and Wednesdays 1:00 – 3:00 pm
July 28, 30, August 4, 6, 11, 13
Four Session Course - $20.00 KCnet Members; $25.00 Non Members

Intermediate
Mondays and Wednesdays, 1:00-3:00 pm
September 29, October 1, 6, 8
Four Session Course - $20.00 KCnet Members; $25.00 Non Members

Advanced
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:00-11:00 am
September 9, 11, 16, 18
Four Session Course - $20.00 KCnet Members; $25.00 Non Members

Advanced
Mondays and Wednesdays, 1:00-3:00 pm,
October 20, 22, 27, 29
Four Session Course - $20.00 KCnet Members; $25.00 Non Members

Digital Camera / Photo Manipulation
Tuesdays  5:30 – 7:30 pm
July 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
Five-Session Course = $30 KCnet Members; $35 Non Members

KCnet Users group:  Every Wednesday
The starting time is 9:00 AM on this Wednesday July 30.  We meet in  Computer Lab 1 (The Big Room).  The leader is Mike Foust and anyone that wants to jump into the fray.  This class often becomes shared-experiences learning.

Hi-Lites from the last session: What a day that was. We had guests. Jon Ahrens brought his visiting son in law, Brian.  And Fred Bartley:  you are welcome back anytime regardless of what Iva Lou says. 
We had a lot of activity and excitement about the Open House Project.  Class attendees were bringing trays of food and bags of goodies for the Open House that would start at noon.  Somehow we settled down to business and explored a number of things. 
Sue Clements suggested a better photo album site than the Photo Jam one we explored a few weeks ago.   It is called PhotoShow.  It is fun and an easy way to share your photos. With PhotoShow, anyone can add digital photos to music and then easily share with friends. Simply choose transitions and effects and then add captions and animated clip art. Then share it online, make a CD-ROM, VideoCD, use it as your screensaver, or publish it on your Web site. Download it at: http://msn.com.com/3000-2189-10183885.html
Bert Rice gave us an address for some really great 50's stuff, including midis, photos and wavs.  Unfortunately that address will be shut down until August because they have exceeded their allotted bandwidth for the month. 
Maybe they will ante up or switch hosts.  The site is/was  http://coolkats2rcvc.homestead.com/ 
Mike talked about an old rather nasty virus, W32 Magistr.  It will do damage to your computer in addition to sending itself to your friends in your addressbook.  Information about it is available at: http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.magistr.24876@mm.html
Iva Lou (Aunt Bea) Bartley brought a nifty mini camera, SiPix CAMeleon Digital Camera and Recorder with Tilt Base Stand, to class.  We all oohed and ahhed it.  It is impressive   She ordered 17 of them herself, for grandkids she said.  A picture of it is on the final page of this newsletter.
The SiPix CAMeleon Digital Camera and Recorder lets you shoot digital still pictures, movies, and even video conference all in a sleek, compact package you can slip in your shirt pocket. It's a multi-mode camera that allows you to take regular digital still pictures, record streaming snapshots and turn them into video clips, use the camera for video conferencing or as a PC camera. It features 640 x 480 VGA image resolution or a separate mode with Picture ALIVE image enhancement. VGA resolution gives you crisp and colorful pictures. The separate mode allows you to take more pictures (up to 300) in a lower resolution or do streaming snapshots. Picture ALIVE gives you more vibrant colors and detail.   Information and order at: ( the address is so long you will have to copy and paste the two lines.  http://www.hsn.com/cnt/search/searchresults/default.aspx?Ntt=754180&N=0&Ntk=Item_Number&st=
1&criteria=boolean&days=&minprice=&maxprice=&o=esearch&Ntx=mode+matchany
Break time was interesting for me.  I was bowled over.  Somehow in all the activity going on some people remembered that I had a birthday coming.  So I got serenaded and treated to a gorgeous and delicous cake.  Words like surprised, embarrassed, appreciative are the emotions that come to mind.  Thank you very much.  Oh, the age, lets just say I won't get drafted but I will sign up.
Take a look at the last pages to see what we snacked on in addition to the cake.
Show up this Wednesday, bring questions and suggestions too.    The time will be 9 AM.  I think you'll like the new
surrounds and the friendly folks.

BEGINNER - INTERMEDIATE - ADVANCED COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

The Beginner Group Course Content

The first session is a demonstration of the various parts of the computer.  We actually take a computer apart and show the various components.  We describe the computer memory, mother, sound and video boards, hardware, software, connections, peripherals, keyboards, mice, speakers, modems, etc.
Students do hands on in all four sessions starting with turning the blasted beast on.  We learn about the desktop and mouse control. 

The Intermediate Group Course Content:

We mess around with the desktop, rearrange icons, change backgrounds, create screen savers, learn to make shortcuts on the desktop, learn a bunch of ways to access the hard drive and discuss how our computers resemble a file cabinet in its organization.  We learn a little bit about extensions like .gif, .wav, .mid, .txt, .doc, .jpeg, .exe, and dot de dot de dot...  just to name a few.  We discover what special programs are already installed on our computers to help us see these special extensions.   We make folders and subfolders on the hard drive.
We copy and paste files into these folders.  We learn the difference between cut/paste and copy/paste.  We learn how to copy/borrow graphic and midi files from the internet and save them to the new folders we make.  Then we copy and paste files from floppies to the hard drive, we move files from the hard drive to a floppy disk.  We take floppies home with graphics and midis on them to put on the hard drives to use with email. 
So look out because we will be terrorizing our friends with neat souped up emails.  Yep!, we definitely learn enough to be verrrrry dangerous er creative. 
AND...WE HAVE FUN!!!.

 

NEWS & NOTES BY SUE FOUST:

Several weeks ago, after we had been in our newly remodeled quarters, I wrote “I love it when a plan comes together.”  Well, now after a very successful open house, I’m having the same feelings.  However, there are multitudes of people to give the credit to and to thank for their numerous hours of work which created two wonderful days for KCnet.

There were no hitches.  The publicity through the media – Express, Record, BEAR 99.9, WBPZ, The Shopper and The Mountain 92.1 – got the word out and people came!  And when they came, they were musically entertained by the able Carsten (Jon) Ahrens on the keyboard; they were ushered through the building by board members and other volunteers; they were refreshed with delicious food prepared and served by the members of the KCnet Advanced Class.  Food was kept cold in a refrigerator donated by Beiter’s.   The network center was open for visitors to learn how KCnet’s modem pool takes your calls and sends them around the world.  Displays showed a time-line of KCnet’s life and close-ups of the renovation project performed by J&M Construction.  And before a visitor could leave the building, they were given a door prize.  Next week we’ll have pictures of the grand prize winners.

When you look at the pictures on the last two pages of this newsletter, you’ll see local friends you know.  Also there are people from USDA Rural Development in Harrisburg and Montoursville, PA Department of Community and Economic Development, Congressman Peterson’s office, Clinton County Economic Partnership and Lock Haven City Government.  What a huge amount of support we saw during those 2 days.  Well over 200 people visited KCnet. 

Thank you, thank you, thank you.  There are no words that can express how we, at KCnet, felt with the amount of love that was shown this past week.  Many times, when people are looking for a new Internet Service Provider, I am asked the question, “What makes you different from Chilitech or any of the other providers?”  The answer is (and I write this without any doubt or hesitation), the answer is love.

Thank you for a wonderful week and a good future relationship to look forward to.
Ray McGill, owner of Nittany Travel, is the President of KCnet; William Raco is Vice-President; Judy Yoho is Secretary and Donald C. Miller of North Bend is Treasurer.  Other members of the board are Fred Bierly, Donna Gebhardt Lannan, Earl Keen, R. Keith  Kelly, Amy Lapriola, Paddy O’Hara-Mays, Bob Rolley, Rick Vilello, and Dave Winkleman.

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VIRUS AND OTHER STINKY STUFF, TECHNICALLY SPEAKING, 
INTERESTING SITES
FUN PAGE 1
OPEN HOUSE EVENTS AND DISPLAYS
FUN PAGE 2
CLASSES, SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS,CANDID SHOTS 
INCLUDING A HAPPY BIRTHDAY
KCNET SENIORCENTER.NET HOMEPAGE
NEWSLETTER ARCHIVES 2003, 2002, & 2001
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