What’s new at the SaddleBrooke Computer Club?

Dennis Korger

“Digital Estate Planning” is the topic for our next free presentation on Monday, Oct. 21 at 1 p.m. in the MountainView Ballroom. This event is open to all SaddleBrooke residents and their guests.

In our paperless society, many of the records documenting an estate may be entirely digitized. While many people manage their finances, business, and personal lives online, very few have organized or centralized those digital accounts. This can make managing and distributing these assets difficult for your survivors. By creating a digital estate plan, you can help your family locate your online accounts, access these accounts, determine their contents and values, distribute or transfer assets, and avoid possible identity theft. Our speaker is SaddleBrooke Computer Club instructor Leigh Beaty.

Our presentation on Monday, Nov. 18 at 1 p.m. in the MountainView Ballroom will be “Identity Theft” by cybersecurity expert and Computer Club instructor Ken Knapp. We will not have a public presentation in December but we’re working on some interesting presentations for 2020 – our 21st year!

We have restructured many of our classes to be completed in shorter time frames to accommodate busy schedules. A number of classes have yet to begin and still have spaces available. Please check our website calendar at saddlebrookecc.org for up to date information on all our activities. Please read class descriptions carefully because while many classes are completed in a single 90-minute period, some will last a full morning or afternoon, or continue on subsequent days.

Here you will find our up to the minute schedule and answers to frequently asked questions (FAQ). You can also join the SaddleBrooke Computer Club, register for classes or participate in our members only eLearn classes. New members pay $55/individual or $80/couple to join the club and then enroll in any class on a space available basis for the remainder of the current calendar year. Established members pay a $35 annual fee to enroll in a subsequent year.

Tech news snips: Back in 2015, just prior to the release of Windows 10, Terry Myerson, the head of Microsoft’s Operating Systems Group, predicted that Windows 10 would be installed on one billion devices by 2017 or certainly by 2018. That estimate has since been repeatedly revised. At present, about 900 million devices now use Windows 10 and may reach that magic billion total before the end of 2020.

This is the time of the year when new models of smartphones and other electronics are announced, soon to arrive in your favorite store in time for holiday shopping. This is also the time when last years “flagship” models go on sale at reduced prices for savvy shoppers until supplies are exhausted.

Lots of tech gear is on the Dec. 15 tariff increase list. Included are cell phones and laptops, keyboards, computer monitors, headphones, and speakers. All could see prices rise if the additional 15% tariff goes into effect. You might want to do your Christmas shopping a bit earlier this year!