From the Tutors desk:

A New Year’s welcome to all our members from all your tutors. We hope your Christmas and New Year was all you wished for. I’m sure this year will be a great learning experience for both beginners and advanced members alike.
Intending members and existing members can take advantage of the special enrolment morning to be held on Tuesday 24th January from 10:00 am to 12:30 pm in the club room. Tutors and the Enrolling Officer will be in attendance to discuss what courses are available and to allocate a day and time suitable for you.
Our first session for the year starts on Monday 30th January. There may still be an opportunity to sign up for a course in that session. If you cannot attend the enrolment morning ring Marjorie, the Enrolling Officer on 4969 1498 to find out what is available.
Now is the time to book in for a course in the second session of the year. It will start on Monday 5th March. Speak to the Enrolling Officer for all available courses.

Greg Hood

Tuition Officer

From the Editor/Webmasters desk:

Each Month check your newsletter you may find the articles of interest and useful, and a little something to help brighten your day so just enjoy.

Val Ross

Editor/Webmaster

Please Note: Have you advised us that you can now receive emails etc, if you have not been receiving your newsletter from us here at Computerpals then we have not been advised that you now have internet access, or the email address that we have is incorrect if this is the case then Please send an email: judy.gl@bigpond.com , with your full name in the subject line and it will be corrected…. For postal newsletters inform Judy Garland on 49452042 or judy.gl@bigpond.com

For member’s information, I thought this might be useful, Paul Callaghan is a local who sells reconditioned computers at reasonable prices…(based at Wallsend).
He has complete Pentium 4 computers, Monitor, mouse & keyboards included starting from $80 and up to $200 and Pentium III computers from $40, Paul says “I get great pleasure from being able to supply people with computers at cheap prices, I also offer 1 months replace or repair warranty to computer purchases as well as any advice that may be needed” he has computer parts available. LCD monitors 17" from $90, 19" from $100, and repairs from $10.00.
For anyone interested contact Paul Callaghan his mobile number is 0421 930 827. this is not an endorsement it is only for your info/advice.
 

For your information: If you ever need this service the following members of your club are Justices of the Peace.

 Names                                                 Locality                                                             Phone No  

Ron Howard                                Charlestown                                                          0249432580

Elaine Miller                               Swansea                                                                0249711356

Robert Miller (Bob)                     Swansea                                                                0415461930

Edward Felstead                        Swansea                                                                0249714001

Computer Tips/Help.                                                                                                                                                                          

SENIORS WEEK PREMIERS CONCERT
Tickets for the free Premier’s Concert to be held at the Sydney Entertainment Centre 11.00am on Monday 19th March next will be available on application from 9.00 am Tuesday 9th February, a maximum of four tickets per applicant, at the following locations.
Ticketmaster outlets
Travelworld, 144 Hannell Street, Wickham, Telephone:  4940 2222
Internet:  www.ticketmaster.com.au/h/tcentres/nsw.html
Telephone:  1300 855 501 (could be lengthy delays)
A special train to and from Sydney is usually provided, check the timetable beforehand. It is an easy walk from the station to the Entertainment Centre or you can use the light rail.
The Premier’s concerts are well worth attending, with performances by top artists of stage and screen.

HELP, I'VE LOST MY WINDOWS PASSWORD! IS THERE ANY WAY TO GET IT BACK?

Note for the email version of the newsletter:  To use the underlined links in this article, you will need to be connected to the Internet with Windows Explorer open. Simply hold down the Ctrl key and click the link which will then take you to the appropriate web site.
Have you ever lost your Windows password? Did you ever want to know how secure your Windows password really is? Well, you’ve come to the right place. In this tutorial we’ll talk about a program called Ophcrack, which is used to “crack” Windows passwords. This program works for Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7.
1. Go to the Ophcrack website and download the program. If you want to crack the password of a computer that uses XP, download the “XP LiveCD”. For a computer that uses either Windows Vista or Windows 7, download the “Vista LiveCD”.
2. Burn the downloaded .iso file to a CD. This will be different depending on which burning software you use. See this article for more information.
3. Put the CD into the CD drive of the computer you want to find the password of and restart it. Instead of the usual Windows loading screen, you will be presented a screen showing ophcrack LiveCD – OBJECTIF SECURITE:
Note:
If you restart the computer and don’t see this screen (Windows starts normally) it means that the computer didn’t boot from the CD. On most computers the first boot device is the CD drive, but in this case it isn’t. To correct this, you need to change the boot order. Follow this article to do so.
4. On the Ophcrack startup screen, you can choose between the graphic mode and the text mode. I recommend the graphic mode as it is extremely easy to use. However, on some computers this doesn’t work. You will have to go with the text mode instead.
5. Once you select the appropriate option, the program should automatically start finding your passwords. When you found the password you were looking for, you can simply restart the computer. Don’t forget to take out the CD or the computer will boot from it again.
Note:
This program can’t find all kinds of passwords. The longer the password, the less likely it is that the program will find it. That’s why Ophcrack is excellent for checking the security of your Windows password. If the program was able to find your password, you can make it more secure by using symbols, numbers and lower and uppercase letters. Also make sure the password is longer than 8 characters.
Ophcrack is 100% legal, but can be used for illegal purposes. I am not responsible for what you do with this program.    ~Jonas

WHAT DESKTOP IS THE "BEST BUY" NOW FOR JUST HOME USE AND SELLING THINGS ON eBAY?

The first question that I would ask is “Are you sure that you want a desktop, or would a laptop suit your needs better?”
In general, laptops cost more for the same amount of processing power, and are, as a rule, less upgradeable, but have the advantage of portability. For myself, I only use a laptop, but have a keyboard, mouse and monitor that I connect to when I’m home for the convenience of desktop computing. So is this portability important to you?
When comparing the two, be sure that you’re also comparing apples to apples. What I mean by that is to make sure that you’re comparing machines that have a similar amount of RAM, similar processors and similar storage capability. More on these terms later. For instance, when I just searched for a desktop and laptop on a website I found two that were similar, although not identical with the desktop running $700 and the laptop running $800.
PROCESSOR: the processor is the “brain” of the machine. The top sellers in processors right now is the “Core I” series of processors, the Core I3, the Core I5 and the Core I7. The Core I3 is excellent for everyday computing, with the Core I5 and the Core I7 being more powerful for things like processing HD video and audio and graphics-intensive applications such as gaming. As I say, though, for basic computing applications, you really won’t notice a difference between the three. The laptop that I priced above has the core I7 processor, while the desktop has a Core I3. The blue logo that you should look for to see the processor on the machine shows:  intel Core i7 – inside.
STORAGE/HARD DRIVE: The size of the hard drive in your machine determines how many programs, photos, music, video, etc. you can have on your machine. When you approach the capacity of your hard drive, you will notice the machine slowing considerably. For instance on my computer I have more than 20,000 songs, almost 16,000 photos, 450 videos and all of the programs that I need at the moment and am using about 50% of my machine’s 500 gigabyte hard drive. Whether you get a laptop or desktop, however, it is also important to get something such as an external hard drive to routinely back your system up to. A good 1 terabyte hard drive (1,000 gigabyte) hard drive will cost you less than a hundred dollars.
RAM: A computer’s RAM is it’s temporary memory. This is the amount of information that you can have open on your desktop at one time. Typically any computer that you buy today will have enough RAM to handle any everyday computing functions. The laptop that I referenced above has 8 GB of RAM, while the desktop has 6.
Another important consideration is to make sure that a salesman doesn’t sell you more computer than you need. For instance, if you’re not creating HD videos or playing World Of Warcraft, there’s no reason to have an I7 processor with 12GB of RAM and a high-end video card. If you think that there’s a chance that you’ll be doing this stuff before you buy a new computer, then it may be worth it to you get the higher-end machine. Either one of the machines that I referenced above will be more than adequate for everyday computing needs, so if you go into the computer store armed with the above information, you should be fine.
It is also typically preferable, from a price standpoint, to buy your computer directly from the manufacturer rather than through a second party. For instance, if you’re looking for a Dell computer, you might do better to buy directly from dell.com rather than bestbuy.com, simply for the fact that there is less retail markup on the manufacturer’s site then there is on the retailer’s website.
Hope that this helps.                                                                                                      ~Randal Schaffer

THE BOOK OF TREASURES

This is my latest browser game addiction, which I am pleased to pass on to all of you!
To get started, click Play as Guest (even as a guest it has saved my progress). Then the game will load after a brief advertisement. If you’re playing at work turn your sound off with the speaker button at the top of the game.
At the bottom you’ll need to select your play style, select Quest. This will take you through the quest mode of the game, where you’ll learn the story behind the game play. Then it will whisk you off to level one where you will receive a tutorial of how to play.
The goal is to make as many words as you can from the letters that you have (like Boggle) and fill up the book spines before time runs out. The goal is to have filled in the book spine of the golden book that holds a piece of the manuscript that you are trying to put back together.
There are thirty five levels to beat. I’ve made it through eight so far. Sometimes the level gives you letters that are wicked hard to put together into words.  This adds to its replay-ability and addictive quality, I think.
The other modes of play are:
Endless – this allows you to play an endless amount of levels.
Timeless – this allows you to play without at timer.
I love word games like this, so go check it out!
http://www.games.com/game-play/the-book-of-treasures/single/                             ~Amanda

SEND A TEXT MESSAGE VIA E-MAIL

Like it or not, texting has become a necessity of modern communication. The good news is that you no longer have to press teeny-tiny keys or unresponsive touchscreens anymore with this handy tip!

First, use this Wikipedia entry to find the SMS gateway for the cellular service you’re trying to send a message to. Now, open your e-mail up and put the person’s number, followed by the SMS gateway you found into the “To:” field:

After that, just put your subject in and write your message as usual and hit send. Voila! Instant text-messaging without all the hassle!                                                                ~Andrew

Refrigerator Art
Using a new painting program on my computer, I managed to come up with a very credible still life of fruit. I made a color printout and sent it to my daughter, a graphic designer. She called when it arrived.
"Isn't it good"? I asked.
She chuckled and in a tone that echoed mine from years ago, replied, "Mom, it's beautiful. We put it on the refrigerator."

One Difficult Question
An interviewer says, "Tell me your choice. I can either ask you ten easy questions or one very difficult question. Think hard before you make up your mind."
"Ummm, I'd like one very difficult question."
"You have made your own choice. Good luck to you. Tell me which comes first: day or night?"
"The day, sir."
"And how did you reach that conclusion?"
"Sorry, sir. I can't answer that. I said I would only answer one difficult question."

Members please note: That the newsletter is prepared 10-14 days before each monthly meeting to allow time for printing/postage & delivery.

All or any tips from http://www.worldstart.com are used by permission  DISCLAIMER:  This Newsletter is issued “As Is” without guarantee of any kind. Any use by the reader of the Tips, suggestions or advice is at your own risk

Remember to always visit your clubs website http://www.cust.idl.com.au/cpeastlake/

The ASCCA Newsletter is available to our members. www.ascca.org.au  (or see your club website link)