Why do we run free computer classes?

It's a beautiful Monday afternoon in Florida.  I am always amazed how many people show up for our computer class.  We are talking about golfers, bikers, kayakers.  This late in the season people are packing up and getting ready to head north yet they take two hours on a beautiful sunny afternoon to come to class.

This was not an easy learning week, we were covering more advanced topics than usual.  How to get rid of Adware, Spyware and generally clean up a computer.  Our classes are typically 2 hours - one hour of presentation and one hour of answering questions and fixing problems. The presentation piece with all the questions went a lot longer than we expected but people were able to follow with their laptops.  After class people just stayed to talk and to listen while we responded to others asking questions.

These are the things that make doing these class really rewarding.

Celebrating the Ides of March

Et tu Brute
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One of our long family traditions has been to celebrate the Ides of March by killing a Caesar or two,   Well now, we brought that tradition to our friends at Rock Crusher Canyon.
We spent a fantastic day enjoying Caesars, some nice appraisers and some of Bettyann's great chili.
Two couples, Buck and Lisa, Charlie and Mary and George and Sheila couldn't be with us.  Lisa had to be home, in spite of the bad weather in Indiana, to be with her daughter for the birth of her first baby and Charlie and Mary had to be in Myrtle Beach to see there grand child.  Everyone else gathered outside our motorhome and had a great day that lasted well into the evening.  They all did great damage to Caesar.

Turkey Fry at Rock Crusher

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This is my second year enjoying the Turkey Fry here at Rock Crusher.  The event gathers 40 or 50 of our neighbours for conversational afternoon followed be a great turkey dinner.  Fritz and Casper organize the event, cook the turkeys and provide the gathering place outside their motorhome.  Richard and Paulette provded a big cooked ham and to enhance all of this everyone contributes somehow with a dish or two in "pot luck" fashion.  Even with all those people there is not chance they will run out of food.
After the very filling dinner it is nice to relax around a nice warm fire, enjoying the star filled sky and the not too cool air.  Overall, a great day.

Window 8 Anti-virus - Don't buy one

Is seems that our classes are getting more and more popular.  I am not sure whether it is because technology is changing so fast or just because the more people want to learn and take control of their technology purchases.  Either way, our attendance has double since last year.

Today we are discussing "Backup and Recovery", transferring data to a new computer and Anti-virus.  Many people in the class had recently purchased new Windows 8 based machines and almost in every case they were sold an Anti-virus program like Web Root even though the manufacturer of the laptop had added Norton or McAfee to their standard bloatware.  None of these are necessary - when you purchase Windows 8 with or without a computer you have already
a great Anti-virus included in the price.  It comes with Windows and is call Windows Defender.  Much of our time after the class was spent removing the Anti-virus that was installed on the system and letting Windows Defender take over.

iPad Class

Today's iPad class was a lot of fun.  We had about 40 people show up and spend an hour learning how to use their iPad.  We started with the very basics and ended the session with a demo of Siri.  I had done one class previously but started with the assumption that when someone owned the iPad they already knew how to use it.  I later found out that that was not so.

Starting with the very basics - A hardware tour, some basic setting, how to organize the iPad apps, and setting up Email was very popular.  Even those who had used their iPad for a couple of years admitted to learning a lot.  Most of the 40 people had never used Siri and didn't even know it was on their iPad.

At the end of the hour, when asked if they learned any new things and if it was worth the time they spent - EVERYONE raised their hands.  That is why I love doing this.  Thank you all.

Windows 8 Class at Rock Crusher Canyoun

Bettyann talks about transitioning to Window 8

Windows 8 really isn't that difficult but it is a big change for many people who purchase a new computer.  Having someone spend an hour telling them the basic and the folks at Rock Crusher Canyon were a lot more confident using it.  They also got very excited about some of the Windows 8 apps that weren't available in earlier versions of Windows.  Apps like Google Search that allow you to talk to the computer and let it do your searches were very popular as were new games like the Free Sudoku app.
We also spent an hour answering questions and addressing individual concerns people had with things they were trying to accomplish with their computer.  Overall, a very successful class. It is always nice when people leave the classroom and tell you how much they have learned and how much they appreciate opportunity to learn.

Some early results of a two year old with a computer

I know when I first posted that we were giving our grandson, Travis, a computer for his 2nd birthday many of you silently chuckled. Especially when I said it was a big Windows 8 HP Touch Screen computer.  Well it's been three months now and here are some early results.  This is a 40 second clip with a great deal of cuteness packed in.  Here is the link:

Travis Age 2 years 3 months