Getting online is easier than ever with the Open Source program, Wordpress, a combination blog/content management system. There's no longer any need to learn HTML or Dreamweaver. Getting a site up quickly and inexpensively is now simple and inexpensive, even free for some uses.

Michael McKee will offer an introduction to Wordpress, demonstrating its ease of use and simplicity.

Thursday, July 9
7:00 pm
Tri Area Community Center

Free and open to the public

The monthly workshops (SIGs) on Mac Programs and Digital Media will not be held during July and August. They will resume in September. Those on the PTSLUG mailing list will receive email announcements about the content and sign up information for the September classes.

PTSLUG Workshop (SIG) on The Integrated Mac - Learning how Apple programs work with each other
Friday, June 19th at 7 P.M. WSU Computer Lab, Shold Business Park, Port Hadlock

The topic of the June Mac Programs SIG will be "The Integrated Mac". Apple programs are designed to work with each other.  Learn how to take advantage of this powerful cross-program system. For example, Spotlight searching is available in iCal, Mail and Address Book. You can send an email to someone in Address Book or add an email address to Address book from Mail. You can enter birthdays in Address Book and have them show up in iCal. The "Services" menu is available in all Apple applications. You can send photos via Mail form iPhoto. You can make a slideshow in iPhoto and turn it into an Apple QuickTime movie with sound from iTunes. You can sync your iCal calendars, Address Book Contacts and Safari bookmarks on your Mobile Me account(formerly dot Mac). You can create a note with photos or graphics in TextEdit or Pages and put it into a Sticky Note. You can open a web page in Safari and send it via email using Mail. These are just some of the integrated operations available on your Mac.The workshop will provide hands-on work with these and other programs. Presenter is Bob Snow.

The handout will be posted on the PTSLUG website is available for downloading and printing. Click Here. Participants should bring it with them.

Reservations are required for this class. RSVP to Francesca Drum: fdrum@olympus.net . Please specify: 1- Your full name, 2-  Whether you want a computer or laptop position, and 3- Please indicate if you are willing to share a computer. Couples/friends are encouraged to share a computer when space is limited.

The computer Lab has 9 desktop computers and 4 laptop spaces. After those positions are filled, a waiting list will be started in case a vacancy occur. Paid-up members will be given first priority, then members of the public. If after receiving a confirmation, you are unable attend please let Francesca know as soon as possible so we can offer your space to someone else. Those who need to cancel and do not let us know 24 hours in advance will lose their priority in future workshops.

If you plan to bring your own laptop and want to use its power transformer you will need to bring your own extension cord.

As always, this workshop is free.

 

This month's meeting is by consultant John Pizzo.

Sure, your Mac hasn't had a virus in years and you've stopped worrying about it. You gloat to your PC-laden friends. You don't even bother to update your computer.

Unfortunately, we (in the Macintosh world) may need to start caring about malware again. There are a number of choices and things you can do to keep yourself and your computer safe and healthy.

Come to the meeting and find out how.

From John :
    My contact at Apple will be sending some Apple promo products for me to give away at the meeting. It should be fun and a nice reason to come to the meeting.Everyone will get a coupon that will entitle them to a discount on their next Apple hardware purchase too.

Thursday, June 11
7:00 pm
Tri Area Community Center
 

The May Mac Digital Media Workshop (SIG) will be on "Editing photos in iPhoto." The workshop will be on Friday, May 22nd, 7 P.M. in the WSU Computer Lab, Shold Business Park, Port Hadlock, off Rhody Drive.  Presenter is Bob Snow.

The handout for this workshop can be accessed at the flollowing link. Participants should download the handout, print it and bring it with them. Click here for the handout.

Reservations are required.

To make reservations for this class RSVP to Joy Bland: joysdg1945@yahoo.com. Please specify: 1- Your full name, 2-  Whether you want a desktop computer or laptop position, and 3- Please indicate if you are willing to share a computer. Couples/friends are encouraged to share a computer when space is limited.

The computer Lab has 9 desktop computers and 4 laptop spaces, After those positions are filled, a waiting list will be started in case a vacancy occur. Paid-up members will be given first priority, then members of the public. If after receiving a confirmation, you are unable attend please let Joy know as soon as possible so we can offer your space to someone else. Those who need to cancel and do not let us know 24 hours in advance will lose their priority in future workshops.

If you plan to bring your own laptop and want to use its power transformer you will need to bring your own extension cord.

As always, this workshop is free.


Details: iPhoto cannot do what a photo editing program such as Photoshop Elements can do, but for many photos, it will do a good job of basic photo editing. Some of the tools to be covered include:
Crop: Lets you crop, or trim, the photo to the dimensions you prefer.
Straighten: Allows you to rotate the photo up to 10 degrees in either direction.
Enhance: Instantly brightens the photo or adjusts its contrast levels based on preset criteria.
Red-Eye: Fixes red-eye (when a person’s eyes look red in the photo).
Retouch: Removes blemishes by blending them into the background.
Effects: Allows you to choose from a range of different effects, including turning your color photo into black and white or giving it a sepia tone.
Adjust: Provides tools for advanced editing, such as exposure and contrast, highlights and shadows, color saturation, temperature, or tint, sharpness, noise reduction, and color balance. One of the tools for making photos look better is the histogram, which participants will work with.
Size slider: Lets you zoom in or out of your photo. Zooming in makes it easier to edit a specific area of the photo; zooming out allows you to see changes you’re making to the entire image.

 

Friday, May 15th at 7 P.M. WSU Computer Lab, Shold Business Park, Port Hadlock

The topic of the May Mac Programs SIG will be "An introduction to Google - The Basics and Tips and Tools for Smarter Web Searching." The workshop will cover the basics of Google web searches, wild cards, syntax, advanced searching, language tools and setting preferences. In addition to web text searches, we will cover searching for images, maps, news, video and more. The workshop will also briefly cover some alternatives to Google. Hands-on work with Google is planned. Presenter is Bob Snow.

The link below will take you to the handout for the workshop. Participants should bring it with them.

www.michaelsdesigns.com/ptslug/slug/media/PTSLUG%20MacProgSIGHO%20May09%20.pdf

Reservations are required for this class. RSVP to Francesca Drum: fdrum@olympus.net . Please specify: 1- Your full name, 2-  Whether you want a computer or laptop position, and 3- Please indicate if you are willing to share a computer. Couples/friends are encouraged to share a computer when space is limited.

The computer Lab has 9 desktop computers and 4 laptop spaces. After those positions are filled, a waiting list will be started in case a vacancy occur. Paid-up members will be given first priority, then members of the public. If after receiving a confirmation, you are unable attend please let Francesca know as soon as possible so we can offer your space to someone else. Those who need to cancel and do not let us know 24 hours in advance will lose their priority in future workshops.

You you plan to bring your own laptop and want to use its power transformer you will need to bring your own extension cord.

As always, this workshop is free.
 

Topic: A Burning Issue - Burning CDs and DVDs
Presenter: Gary Estes

         No-fee, but advance sign-up required. Sign-up at joysdg1945@yahoo.com  


Gary Estes will discuss archiving files, folders, and photos, making music CD's, using iDVD, and the advantages of using Toast. Please bring a blank CD to this class for a hands-on demonstration.

This free workshop (SIG) is available to the general public as well as PTSLUG members. First priority will go to PTSLUG  current members.

Since there are only 9 iMacs in the lab, those with laptops are encouraged to bring them. There will be space for four laptops.  Space is limited, so if you plan to attend you will need to let Joy Bland know via email, so she can insure a place for you. Joy's email is joysdg1945@yahoo.com .

Important Note: Because of the popularity of these workshops we must limit the number of attendees to the first 9 people to RSVP for the desktop computer space and the first 4 people bringing their own laptops. Please tell us which type of computer you will be using. If you are a couple and you both can use the same computer please let us know as well. That will allow us to have another person attend. When we reach the limit on space available (9 and 4) we will put any additional attendees on a standby list. If you have signed up and cannot make it please let us know so we can assign the space to another person. In fairness to those on the waiting list who want to attend, people who make a reservation and do not show up or let us know they cannot attend will be put at the  bottom of the reservations for future classes.
 

PTSLUG Workshop (SIG) on Apple's Applications and Utilities -Part 2
Friday, April 17th at 7 PM. WSU Computer Lab, Port Hadlock

The topic of the March Mac Programs SIG was "What are all those programs?" The workshop looked at the 35 software applications on most  Macs in the applications folder. The April workshop will continue working with Apple programs, focusing on the Mac's 25 utility programs. New Macs with OS 10.5 come loaded with applications and utilities and older Macs have almost as many. But what are all those programs, which ones might be useful and which can I ignore? Explore the Apple software on your computer in this workshop. We will be doing hands-on work with some of these programs. Presenter is Bob Snow.

To Download the Handout (PDF) click here: Handout for Mac Programs SIG March 2009

The handout for the April workshop is the same one we used in the March program. Participants should bring it with them if they previously made a copy. If you need to download and print a PDF copy of the handout visit the PTSLUG web site (home page) and look for the announcement for the March Mac Programs Workshop (SIG). That article has a link to a copy of the handout.

Reservations are required for this class. RSVP to Francesca Drum: fdrum@olympus.net . Please specify: 1- Your full name, 2-  Whether you want a computer or laptop position, and 3- Please indicate if you are willing to share a computer. Couples/friends are encouraged to share a computer when space is limited.

The computer Lab has 9 desktop computers and 4 laptop spaces, After those positions are filled, a waiting list will be started in case a vacancy occur. Paid-up members will be given first priority, then members of the public. If after receiving a confirmation, you are unable attend please let Francesca know as soon as possible so we can offer your space to someone else. Those who need to cancel and do not let us know 24 hours in advance will lose their priority in future workshops.

You you plan to bring your own laptop and want to use its power transformer you will need to bring your own extension cord.

As always, this workshop is free.
 

 PTLUG is in the process of archiving handouts, Keynote presentations, and other documentation from presentations given at general meetings and SIG classes for you to view and download. If you have taken a class or attended a recent presentation, and would like a reminder of what was covered, please click on the "Media" tab at the top of the web page to see if the document you are interested in has been archived. Unfortunately, some Keynote presentations are too large for our server limitations, so not everything will be archived, but we are striving to post as much information as possible.

Join us for a night at the movies. Gary Estes found a video that chronicles the rise of Apple Computer and got a copy for SLUG. So for a change of pace join us for part 1 of the Rise of the Nerds. As always we will hold a question and (hopefully) answer session during the meeting so bring your Mac, photography or web design questions.

Thursday, March 12
7:00 pm
Tri Area Community Center

Free and open to the public.