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Below
is a list of dates for 2006, these dates have been confirmed.
27th
September 2006
25th October 2006
22nd November 2006
20th December 2006
Last
Month….
Peter Simpson shared with us the intricacies of Spreadsheets.
I guess of all the computer programs around the spreadsheet and
its stable mate the word processor are probably the most used
by home and office users alike.
For
his demonstration, Peter used Microsoft XL but explained there
are numerous excellent packages about that all do the same things
albeit sometimes in a different fashion. It is a case of personal
preference in the long run.
So
what is a spreadsheet? Peter gave us a brief history of its origins.
The spreadsheet came about in accountancy newspapers that set
the figures out in rows and columns – sound familiar? The
first electronic version appeared in the early 1970’s along
with the first basic home and office computers. So the spreadsheet
is really a layout of rows and columns containing data cells in
a grid formation. By using rows and columns each cell can be individually
referenced. The columns are alphabetically indexed and the rows
are number indexed. So like reading a map grid reference an individual
cell is easily accessed.
Peter
went on to show us how data can be entered and formatted to the
users requirements. This could be pure data, currency or formulae
to name a few formats. Of course the modern spreadsheet comes
with all sorts of bells and whistles to suit every individuals
needs and as Peter explained, many of the options can appear a
bit obscure but someone out there has a use for them. XL comes
with all the usual toolbar options and can be customized to the
users preference. One particular favorite of Peter’s is
the statistical analysis tools that he explained were extremely
useful in the sort of spreadsheets he was required to develop
in his work environment. XL is part of the powerful Microsoft
Office suite and as expected, data can be readily moved between
the various packages in the suite.
With
the aid of some simple spreadsheets, Peter was able to demonstrate
manipulating data and formatting it into the correct state. He
showed how to freeze areas of the spreadsheet and prevent unauthorized
data changes. He demonstrated how data could be presented in graphical
format for ease of understanding. XL offered numerous types of
graph that could easily be created with the data on offer.
Finally
Peter showed us some of his old spreadsheets including one macabre
one that showed Melton cemetery and where all the available plots
are!!!!
Ben
Barretto then showed us an ingredient database that he had been
developing. Horrified by some of the included ingredients in products
that he was buying – especially salt content. Ben’s
Food Project is aimed at making people aware of what they are
eating. His database also offers alternative recipes that aim
to eliminate the harmful ingredients in some commercial products.
Our
thanks to both Peter and Ben for sharing an interesting evening
with us.
Dave
Robb
Phone
Or Camera?
Is
the digital compact camera dead? This is the question being raised
as the latest consumer product to hit the UK market aims to find
its niche. The first 5 Mega pixel phone/camera goes on sale this
month. The product is manufactured by LG mobiles and is called
the LG KG920.
Features
will include the ability to twist the camera up to 180’,
a 4 X zoom and if that was not all, a built in MP3 player. So
claim LG Mobile Sales, consumers have no need to carry a separate
digital camera which will benefit photographers who want to travel
light and will set a precedent for all future camera phones.
The
KG920 will include a 256Mbyte memory and will be available through
The Carphone Warehouse on a contract only basis. If you are interested
then pay a visit to www.lgmobile.com to get the full specification.
There you will find all the features of this new piece of technology.
So if you are looking for a new camera and a phone, this indeed
could be for you.
Dave
Robb
At the end of the last meeting, Keith Allen approached me with
a suggestion that we keep a database of what members use, the
cost and more importantly the results. The idea has a lot of merit
and member’s experiences of computer equipment could be
most valuable. Anyway to get the ball rolling, Keith has this
offering that he would like to share with the club.
As
you are all aware, colour printing consumables such as paper and
ink can set the user back a fair sum of money. Keith has recently
bought two packs of photo paper, one from W.H. Smith and the other
from Tesco.
W.H.
Smith Inkjet paper 180 gram £7.99 for 25 sheets. (32p per
sheet)
Tesco Premier Photo Lightweight 180 gram £4.75 for 30 sheets.
(16p per sheet)
As
far as Keith can tell they are identical, glossy one side and
matt the other. The instructions are identical except for the
heading and his experiences show them to offer very similar results.
If
anyone is interested in keeping a database of member’s equipment
experiences – good or bad and where the bargains can be
had, please let one of the committee members know and we can set
it in motion.
Dell
recalls 4m laptop batteries
The world's largest manufacturer of personal computers, Dell,
is to recall 4.1 million of its notebook computer batteries because
of a fire risk.
Most batteries are in computers sold in the US but more than 1
million are thought to be elsewhere. Dell says it knows of six
instances since December when the batteries, made by Sony, overheated
or caught fire. The US body responsible for consumer safety says
it is the biggest recall of electrical products in its history.
Alex Gurzen, the vice-president of Dell's product group, told
the BBC the firm wanted to "put customer safety first despite
this being a small handful of incidents". He said the 4.1m
battery packs being recalled represented "about 15% of the
batteries that we sold" over the affected period between
mid-2004 and this year.
Dell is offering affected customers free replacements. A spokesman
for the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Scott Wolfson,
said users of affected laptops should only run the machines on
a power cord.
'Rare cases'
The Sony lithium-ion batteries were placed in laptops shipped
between April 2004 and July 2006. They were included in some models
of Dell's Latitude, Inspiron, XPS and Precision mobile workstation
notebooks. "In rare cases, a short-circuit could cause the
battery to overheat, causing a risk of smoke and or fire,"
said Dell spokesman Ira Williams. "It happens in rare cases
but we opted to take this broad action immediately."
Dell has already launched a website - http://www.dellbatteryprogram.com
- telling customers how to get a free replacement battery. No
injuries had been linked to Dell laptops with defective batteries,
the company told Reuters news agency.
Microsoft on Thursday issued what it hopes will be the last test
version of Internet Explorer 7 before the new browser is released
later this year.
As the company has with recent beta versions, the near-final Release
Candidate 1 version is being made available for free download,
though users are required to confirm they are running a legitimately
purchased version of Windows.
"The purpose of RC1 is to get the latest release out to the
developer community so they can continue to test their sites...as
we get closer and closer to final release," said Margaret
Cobb, group product manager for IE.
Cobb said that Microsoft hopes RC1 will be its last test version,
but she said that a second release candidate could be added depending
on the feedback the company receives.
"That would be our hope, that this is the last one before
we release," Cobb said. Microsoft released the third beta
version of the software in June.
The final version of IE7 for Windows XP is due to be released
in the fourth quarter, with the new browser also being built into
Windows Vista, which is slated to be made broadly available in
January. Among the key enhancements are tabbed browsing, security
enhancements and better compatibility with Web standards. It is
the company's first major new browser release in years.
In part because of the security changes, Microsoft plans to push
out IE7 as a "high-priority" update to Windows XP. The
company is also releasing a tool that will allow businesses to
block the upgrade if they wish.
On the surface, the new release candidate doesn't look that much
different from the Beta 3 version, though Microsoft said it adds
new bug fixes and performance improvements. Microsoft is also
adding French- and Spanish-language versions of the browser.
One added touch is that installing the browser now removes earlier
test versions. In the past, users had to manually uninstall prior
IE7 installations before they could upgrade to a new version.
Photographic Competition 2006
I know that the competition is someway off but we thought that
it would be good to have as much warning as possible as to the
competition subjects. Last month we got members to select their
favourite topics and the top six were chosen for this year’s
competition. They are as follows :-
1.
The Four Seasons (any photograph depicting one of the seasons
of the year)
2. Landscape/Seascape
3. Nature
4. Industrial Landscape
5. Image manipulation (use of any programme effects to enhance
a photograph)
6. Close-Up
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