SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS (SIGs)
GENERAL SIG INFORMATION:
The Special Interest Group (SIG) is on the leading edge of action for the Front Range PC Users Group. The idea of the SIG is to bring people of similar interests together to see what happens. It's as simple as that. This page is to chronicle the activities and experiences FRPCUG members that are involved in the SIG's.
SIG SCHEDULES:
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Digital Imaging: Second Tuesday of the month in Activity Room 1 (AC 1) at the Fort Collins Senior Center from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM.
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Saturday Morning Shop Talk: Every Saturday (except major holidays) in the lobby of the Fort Collins Senior Center from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM.
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Technology: Third Thursday of the month at Blue Bird Manufacturing, 1421 Webster Ave., Fort Collins, CO, from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM.
- Web Development: Fourth Thursday of each month in the Senior Center lobby from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM.
In addition to monitoring this page for SIG schedule and topic information, schedules for all FRPCUG events can be viewed in the FRPCUG Google calendar. Click on the Graphic Events Calendar link in the right side panel of any page. Schedule information is also available in the HTML Newsletter, and in the PDF Newsletter.
DIGITAL IMAGING SIG
The Digital Imaging SIG was established to help anyone with a digital camera. Topics can include cameras, scanning or software. Software discussions are NOT limited to any one program, and have, in the past, included Picasa, IrfanView, GIMP, Photoshop Elements and Photoshop (among others).
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The next meeting is on Tuesday, September 14th at 7:00 PM in Activity Room 1 (AC 1) at the Fort Collins Senior Center.
The topic: TBD
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If you have a question regarding any aspect of photography, whether it is camera or software related, send your question to me and it can become a topic for a meeting (you can remain anonymous if you prefer). Send your question (or suggestion) to me at twriterext(at)gmail.com.
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Vacation Planning
Planning a vacation sometime soon? You will take your camera(s) with you, correct? Connect to Thirty Minutes That Can Save Your Photo Vacation for some excellent info on checking your camera before you depart. Don't let the word Nikon in that address worry you. The test described in the article can be used with any camera. True, it it is likely to be of more interest to those of you with SLR's or the higher end point and shoot cameras. However, even the least expensive camera may benefit from the test—give it a try.
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Airline Battery Restrictions
Did you know that certain types of batteries are restricted from airline carry-on baggage? Here are 2 links on that topic: 1) Lithium Batteries Banned (see especially the posted messages dated 01/02/08); and 2) Battery Regulations.
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Information on the "Megapixel War"
There are two excellent articles available on the internet that discuss the issue of digital camera megapixels:
Megapixel Myth.
This article is very critical of the way camera manufacturers sell their cameras, and provides a convincing argument for the effectiveness of (relatively) smaller megapixel numbers.
Megapixel Race
This article starts with a quote from a manager of a major camera manufacturer: "Twelve megapixels is, I think, enough for covering most applications most customers need."
You will find in this article a brief discussion of other camera specifications (such as sensor size) that are more important in today's cameras.
If you already have a digital camera, you will find these articles provide support for the choice you made. If you are considering buying a digital camera, you will find an answer to "how many megapixels is enough?"
SATURDAY MORNING SHOP TALK
The Shop Talk sessions are a means for FRPCUG members to share questions and successes with each other, and to provide assistance to the community at large. These sessions are located in the Senior Center lobby on Saturday mornings in order to make that help readily available to the public. Anyone wanting to participate in these learning events is welcome.
TECHNOLOGY SIG
The Technology SIG is one of the longer running SIGs in the club and is run by Charles McJilton. The meeting content varies greatly depending on the issues and problems brought by the members for resolution. The group is a consolidation of one-time active, previous groups including the HTML and Website Development, Networking, and Linux Interest groups.
Significant topics include internet connections, networking in offices (of members), computer security and the installation of computer security software. Activities include tasks such as improving networks, adding wireless connectibility, exploring voice over internet protocols (VOIP), and researching new Linux applications. The group is not limited to the various versions of the Linux operating system, however. Discussions of the Unix and Windows operating systems are within the charter of this group.
In the past, Technology SIG help included locating good component matches to order and build an optimized computer. That included contributing to the evaluation of various combinations of CPUs, motherboards, memory and video cards.
WEB DEVELOPMENT SIG
The FRPCUG web development activity includes cascading style sheets (css), html and xhtml coding, and Java Script. All of which result in a very effective learning experience.
The FRPCUG website is the result of many years effort by a number of people. Our goal is to include more photos, and update the graphics, build on content of the past and encourage the membership to take a more active part in it's maintenance.
All participants are open to the expansion of this task into a SIG that will extend the topic to include web site develoment in general. That goal is consistent with the educational purposes of FRPCUG.
