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Seniornet south members are invited to forward items considered to be of interest to other members, to the webmaster. Please inquire from the office or you tutor for more information.

1/. Internet banking - Is fear depriving you of a great service.

2/.- Phasing out laptop use in classes

3/. Payments to Seniornet can now be made on line.

4/. Using Open Office Suite and other free programs.

5/- Tips for new Seniornet members

6/. Bogus IRD messages - Reading this could save you a considerable amount of grief. (New)

Many of us consider that as we grow older that we have no use for a computer or that computers are simply for young people. This statement is often based on ignorance of the things today's computers can do for us and could not be further from the truth.

Many of us are familiar with the power of the internet, the mere fact that you are reading this story is a simple testament to that fact, and particularly E-mail but there are so many other things that the internet can achieve and allow us to do.

Here are a few things which are easily achieved through the use of the internet many of which become even more important as we age or for any other reasons become less able to get about.

Internet banking (don't be put off by all the horror stories, with 30 years in the Police a number of which I spent as a Detective working on fraud cases, I can assure you that internet banking is almost certainly more secure than the old cheque and cash system with which we are all familiar.) Internet banking allows us to keep control of our finances, including bill paying, even though we may not be able or wish to leave the house. A service which is available 24 hours 7 days a week.

News services - Get up to date news also on a 24/7 basis. Newspapers are now on line and the fact that the television news tell us to go to their website for more information is a fair indication that the internet has really come of age.

24 Hour shopping - From anywhere in the world. Yes provided you take certain precautions it is safe to do so.

Gather information relating to products that we wish to purchase from reviews many written by people who do not have a vested interest in the product or are currently users of that product. If you are considering a purchase this information can be invaluable.

Communication with family members and friends. This is extremely important if something prevents you from leaving your home.

Keep in touch with others by showing them your photographs on line. If you are travelling this is even possible before you complete your journey through the use of many internet cafe's and wireless 'hotspots' available throughout the world today.

Of course all of these advantages assume that you are familiar with using E-mail and internet programs, photograph and other image manipulation programs, Word processing programs, and simply moving files about amongst the folders and directories on your computer. All of this information can be gained through the courses provided at SeniorNet.

The brain is like a muscle "If we don't use it then we loose it". Keep mentally active by enrolling in another course at SeniorNet.

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PHASING OUT OF LAPTOPS

At the January meeting of the committee it was decided that the use of laptops in classes would be discouraged with the intentions of phasing out their use in classes. The class room is set up with sufficient desk top machines and there is nothing on a laptop that can not be learnt using these.

The reason for this is that laptop screens are harder for tutors to see when assisting students, particularly when not standing directly behind them, the layout and programs that students have all vary from machine to machine, where SeniorNet South have gone to considerable trouble setting up each machine with the same programs. Both Vista and XP and MS Office 2003 and 2007 are on each machine. Setting up additional tables to allow students to use laptops makes movement about the class room more difficult for tutors.

Accordingly students are requested to leave their laptops at home, unless there is a specific problem that you wish to discuss, and to use the desktop machines provided. Your co-operation in this matter would be appreciated.

If you wish to take work to or from your home please consider using a 'Flash Drive' or Pen drive. These versatile and handy tools are available for purchase from SeniorNet South for a modest charge. If you need more information about flash drives please ask your Tutor.

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PAYMENTS TO SENIORNET CAN NOW BE MADE ONLINE.

At the March 2009 meeting the Committee agreed that payments to Seniornet South could now be made online using internet banking. The account number is for SeniorNet South is 031746 0021072 00. Please clearly mark the payment with your name and the purpose of the payment. eg: Subscription, class Fees etc. This means that payments can be made either Online or by cheque or cash. We do not have EFTPOS facilities available.

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OPEN OFFICE SUITE

The March 2009 Committee Meeting also agreed to provide instruction in the use of the Open Office Suite. This free program is very similar in operation to Microsoft Office in that it provides programs such as a Word Processing program, A spreadsheet, Database, Drawing program, and a slideshow program similar to Powerpoint. All of these programs allow files to be saved as Microsoft Office files such as Word or Excel and will open files produced in these formats.

In other words if you write a document using Open Office you can simply save it it as a Word file and someone using Microsoft Word can open it, and conversely a person working in Open Office can open files produced

The popularity of this program is growing rapidly and the fact that it is free is no indication of it's value. The program comes from the Linux family which originally was an operating system that was produced by enthusiasts in programming software. It was and always will be free to use and share and although there are commercial versions which have been added too, the base program is open source and can not be charged for. One other good feature is that because so many people work on enhancing it, it updates regularly and again at no cost.

Speak to your Tutor about this program. A number of loan discs are available from Seniornet, feel free to copy this disc but please return the original to Seniornet so that others can benefit from it.

Two other programs can be found on this disc one is Firefox a web browser similar to Internet Explorer and the other is Thunderbird an E-mail program. Both of these work similar to the Microsoft programs Internet Explorer and Outlook. Extensions are available for these programs as well, which are small programs written by third parties which enhance the basic programs. All three of these programs, Open Office, Firefox and Thunderbird are highly recommended, all update regularly and at no cost.

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Tips For New SeniorNet Members

Submitted by Ray Moffett

To enhance the learning and enjoyment levels for new students.

The Tutors/Facilitators are all volunteers who enjoy passing on the knowledge that they have accumulated over a period of time. If a tutor is unable to help with a particular problem or situation, another tutor will generally will be called to help. If help is required from a tutor, please help yourself and the tutors by making your need known.

When we first start with Senior Net, most of us have been out of the education ranks for quite some time. Therefore we need to relearn how to get the best out of our opportunity.

USING THE MANUALS;

The manual you will use has several LESSONS as you progress through. It is a good to get an idea of what the lesson hopes to achieve, by reading through each lesson before starting to do the exercises.
It is also recommended that either the time spent at home or at the course venue be used for revision. e.g. if time is spent at home getting ahead in your manual, and any problems solved by yourself, could greatly improve your learning. Any problems that you are not able to solve yourself jot down in a notebook and ask a tutor to help you through at your next class.
Some manuals have a CD with them. Use the CD only as the manual or tutor request. Always remove the CD after use, and ensure you have it with you as you leave home for your course or leave the course for home.
For your benefit, a number of Assignments are listed at the end of each manual. These are designed to give you practice and understanding of the Lessons as you progress. They should be done at home, but any questions based on these can be discussed with a tutor.
Especially when deleting or saving something on your page, consider if this is what you want to do and be sure of how to do this. Also if you wish to close a page, consider whether you need to save it or not, as you shall be asked if you do.
As you progress through the lessons try and absorb what you are putting on the screen/paper. To be aware of this is a very important part of having text that makes sense and say’s what you want to say.