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Phil’s Ramblings

Hello, from our State Capital, Springfield! (I’ve been on a seven-day road trip to attend our grand-
daughter’s college graduation in Nashville, visiting points of interest on the way home. After today
and tomorrow, I should be an expert on Lincoln!)

But, back to our favorite topic – computers. By now at least some of you should have received an
invitation from Microsoft to install the 2018 Spring Update to Windows 10. If time permits at our
coming meeting, I’ll ask volunteers to share their experiences installing this update and any tips they
care to offer to other members as they go through the installation process. (I’ve installed this update
on three Windows PCs so far, with only a minor hiccup, but have not yet had a chance to dig into
the new features it brings to the table. On the other hand, all the normal computing functions I was
using prior to the update are still working OK – so that’s good news!)
The far-too-frequent bad news about data breaches, ransomware and phishing exploits is continu-
ing. No need to repeat the bad news here, but by now it is very clear that we must continually be on
guard when we are on the internet or using our smartphones. The comparison that comes to mind
is walking through a bad neighborhood at night, by yourself. If possible, you want to avoid doing
that; if it is unavoidable, you want to be as cautious as possible. If we keep this vision in mind as we
use our electronic tools, we will have a greater chance of avoiding potentially serious problems.

I’m looking forward to J.J.’s presentation on Saturday about digital assistants and associated “smart
home” features. This technology is offering us more and more services and options; not surprising-
ly, businesses are jumping on the bandwagon with all sorts of related offerings. The more we can
learn about these tools, the better we will be able to sort through all the news, ads and innovative
products out there. (As a personal example, I bought a Fitbit watch / activity tracker about a year
ago for $129; Amazon now offers a variety of competing products – with the same or more features
– for as little as $29.95! It does not take very long for competitors to emerge in the electronics field;
check out virtually every new product six months to a year after introduction and you will probably
find similar products from companies you may never have heard of, at lower prices.)

On the LCACE front, we will discuss meeting room options at our May meeting. As I have written
separately, we are running into problems trying to schedule the Grayslake Public Library meeting
room on the second Saturday of each month. One option is to switch our meeting to the third Satur-
day of each month – when the GPL calendar has been more open. Other options will be welcomed!
Also, we have our annual picnic coming up in July. As we did last year, we are planning to hold this
year’s picnic in air-conditioned comfort at the State Bank of the Lakes. We’ll solicit input at the com-
ing meeting about format. Last year, at the request of some members, we included a computer-
related presentation with the food, conversation and fellowship normally associated with a picnic.
Since then, I’ve received some feedback suggesting we forego a computer-related program and
simply relax and enjoy ourselves. We need your input as we plan this year’s get-together.

See you Saturday!

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