2010 FACUG Technology Cruise/Conference next February!
The Florida Association of Computer User Groups (FACUG) is going to hold their next spring conference aboard the Norwegian Sky cruise ship.  We will sail from Miami on Friday, February 26, 2010.  We'll be calling on Nassau and Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas, and we'll return to Miami on Monday, March 1, 2010.

The cruise prices are wonderful: $233.37 per passenger including taxes, fees, and gratuities (in the cheapest cabins), and the conference is only $50 for TBCS members and their spouses.  We'll have presentations, programs, vendors, cruise adventure, and fantastic food and activities.

There are only 99 of the cheapest cabins available (although the other prices are excellent also).  One of my comparison shoppers tells me that FACUG negotiated a great price that saves about $170 per person for the cruise.  Plus TBCS will help subsidize the event by reimbursing $25 for up to 20 of our members.   This one is filling fast so you want to make a decision soon.  Go to:
www.facug.org for details and registration.

How about if you want to go with a friend that doesn't want to attend FACUG?  Yes, only one person in a cabin needs to register for FACUG to be legit, and their companion can get the cruise price.

We're also going to look for a bus to take us from Pinellas to Miami and back.  More info as we firm up those plans.

2600 Club needs a new leader!
Congratulations to SIG leader Magen Hughes!  She is moving to Seattle and planning on a spring wedding next year.  We wish her the best.

The 2600 Club has a nice following, but cannot continue without a leader.  If you are interested in taking it over, please send an email to the Club Secretary and let us know.

We are adding a Mac SIG
Virginia Chilcote is going to lead our new Mac SIG.  The first meeting will take place on Monday night, August 17th from 7-9pm.  Let me be VERY clear here: we repair PC compatible computers ONLY.  We do not have the expertise to fix Macs at this time.  We do want to provide interested Mac users with a place to network and share info.

Microsoft Live Meeting Training

We continue to have problems with our UStream broadcasts.  The video works for awhile, but then just quits.  We may have to move to Microsoft Live Meeting exclusively in the future.

Here are the drawbacks to Live Meeting: you have to download and install it to use it.  It's a free and easy download, but a few have had problems.  let us know what you're problem is, and we'll help you.

There are 2 Live Meeting trainings coming up (one of them tonight!).  The training is also free, and will help you achieve better results.  Please make sure you use the correct link to access the correct training.

Subject: Live Meeting Training
Start Time: Monday, Jul 13, 2009 7PM - 8PM EDT
Attendee URL: http://tinyurl.com/lu4y2n
Meeting ID: PW97QW
Entry Code: Ct&g32}PD

Subject: Live Meeting Training
Time: Saturday, Jul 18, 2009 4PM - 5PM EDT
Attendee URL: http://tinyurl.com/nv2c49
Meeting ID: JT78T5
Attendee Entry Code: HX\b?2*gG

Chuck Oppermann will be our guest speaker on July 21st!
Chuck is one of our most popular speakers.  He worked for Microsoft for several years, and wrote a book on Active Directory (AD is a core piece of the Windows operating system).  His subject will be Windows 7.  Chuck not only brings a tremendous understanding of Microsoft software, he is great at explaining the technology to less sophisticated users.  Ask around our group, and you will find that his presentations are not to be missed.

Phil Sullivan's Hands-On Windows XP Beginner's Classes
Four 2-hour classes on Mondays 9:30-11:30am  $40 (NO make-up)
Since these are hands-on classes, they will be limited to only 6 people.
You MUST register for these in advance (see below).  Minimum class size is 3 students.
Here's Phil's schedule for the rest of the year:

Monday, July 13, 1-3pm
Internet SIG. Led by Roger Leer
Topic: “99 ways to make your computer blazingly fast!”  I found a fantastic article for IT Pros that lists 99 different ways to speed up and maintain your Windows based PC.  It covers all recent generations of the Windows operating system.  Many of the tips are new to me, but great links to demos and software fixes are provided.  We’ll never be able to cover more than a few outstanding items in the 2 hour presentation, but SIG attendees can sign up to receive their very own copy.  It prints out to 16 pages in 8 point type, so it is well worth your time.  Roger

Monday, July 13, 7-9pm
Photoshop SIG. Led by Stan Ashbrook
We will continue our look at the Pen tool, masks and combing images to improve a bland sky.  We will look at examples of making fair-to-good images look better with more impact by using various techniques such as the Clone Stamp tool, plugin filters, and masking.  Stan

Tuesday, July 14, 7-9pm
Web Entrepreneur SIG. Led by Tom Kiehl
Broadcast: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/tbcs-live
More essentials and secrets for your online web presence.  Also, we will be doing a LIVE installation of a WordPress Blog from scratch.  Tom Kiehl

Wednesday, July 15, 7-9pm
Photoshop Elements SIG. Led by Stan Ashbrook
This is that rare month when the Photoshop & Elements SIGs fall during the same week.  We will take a look at the Smart Brush tool, and continue to look at various ways to select things, masking and combining multiple images.  Stan