We are hoping for a good turnout for our 2008 Spring luncheon at the Swan Club.   The cost has been  raised to $36.00 per person,

because of expense increases.  Bring your cameras for the flower garden display. 

We hope to see many members at the next luncheon.  Come and join us.

Dave’s Corner   

It looks like it’s that time again…   It is hard to believe that we have had more than 130,000 “hits” on our website. 

For those who are still using an earlier version of windows, it may now be time for you to upgrade. 

Microsoft will be discontinuing support for XP and Vista is quite stable.  I have been using Vista for almost two years…

from the early beta versions through the current Service Pack 1.  Since its official release, I have NEVER had a crash or needed a reload. 

It is slightly slower than XP, however, it is far more secure and has enough advanced features to make the change worthwhile. 

Unfortunately, if your system is a few years old, you may have to sink some money into an upgrade. 

With the price of new systems coming down every day, it would probably pay to go for a new system. 

Check websites like Tigerdirect.com, Newegg.com, ClubIT.com, etc for deals. 

I’ve found that buying a refurbished system from companies like HP makes sense. 

The last three laptops I’ve purchased have been HP refurbs and they have worked (and are working) flawlessly. 

If you pay by credit card, try to use one that extends the warranty period. 

I would also recommend using Microsoft’s OneCare product for overall system protection. 

It is usually available online for $13 or less and will cover up to three computers. 

I have an external 500GB hard drive attached to my computer and it allows my wife’s and daughter’s laptops to be backed up

through my WiFi network.  After the initial backup, it only backs up files that are changed, so it only takes a few minutes. 

It also handles printer usage so any one of the computers can print to my WiFi printer.  This makes for a totally untethered system. 
I can even take my laptop out on the porch, or in the backyard, and print to the printer in the house!

I believe that you can still get a 90 or 180 day free trial to see if you like it. 

I no longer need McAfee, Norton, or third party firewall software and I have not had a spyware problem yet.

Please remember to back up your systems and safe computing…

If you have any questions regarding the website, send me an e-mail, or speak with me directly at the next luncheon.

Dave Minott – webmaster@www.cbsretirees.com