Dennis Korger
On Friday, March 29 at 1:00 p.m. in the MountainView Ballroom, our presentation will be “Smart Phones” (Android and iPhones). This is a return visit from Alex Bruno, manager of Cellular Sales, a Verizon franchise at Grant and Swan, who was originally scheduled to speak in January. We’ve been receiving a stream of enquiries hoping for an update ever since his last visit and hope you can attend.
Our monthly free public presentation on a computer tech topic is traditionally held on the third Monday of the month in the MountainView Ballroom. This year, all of our reserved dates for January through April were cancelled, leaving us scrambling to find alternate dates and reconfirm or replace speakers. Our January presentation was reluctantly cancelled after the revised date was cancelled a second time. Our February “Smart Speakers” presentation took place on Friday, February 15.
We have reserved the ballroom for Friday, April 19 for a future presentation but as yet do not have confirmation from our speaker. As usual, check the Users Group page on our website at saddlebrookecc.org for breaking news and last-minute changes.
Expected new classes for this semester are Beginning Windows 10, Ask Dennis Anything PC and a cybersecurity class from Ken Knapp. Other recent additions include Tech Help Clinic, WordPress Gutenberg Update, FaceTime for iPad and iPhone, VeraCrypt, LastPass, Facebook Security with more to come.
Enrollment for our 2019 classes remains open as long as seats are available. New members pay $55/single or $80/couple to join the club and enroll in any class on a space available basis for the entire calendar year. Established members pay a $35 annual fee to enroll in subsequent years. See our website at saddlebrookecc.org for full class descriptions, our up to the minute schedule, answers to frequently asked questions, (FAQ), joining the SaddleBrooke Computer Club, registration for classes and participation in our eLearn classes (members only).
Computer tidbits
5G technology is expected to revolutionize mobile communications, but it’s going to be years before it becomes available “everywhere”. Several networks have yet to complete their 4G upgrades, a process which began in 2011. First to announce 5G, AT&T is just beginning to install infrastructure in four major cities. With Tucson being the 53rd largest metro area, were not likely to see early availability here. You need not wait in line to get a 5G phone when they become available later this year.
Expect to see smartphones with flexible, foldable screens in the near future from Samsung, Motorola, LG, Apple and Huawei. Early adapters are likely to see prices starting at $1400.
The Windows 10 October 2018 Update (version 1809) was halted just four days after its October 2 launch. A staged rollout finally became available to those using the Home version on January 18. Don’t check for updates unless you want to initiate the upgrade; you’ll eventually get automatically bumped up to version 1809
soon enough.