Dreamland Computer Club

 by Mike Sorem

 The February general membership meeting was held February 7th in Fransworth

Hall with approximately 55 members and guests attending. President Tom Santoro opened the meeting at 9:00 AM and welcomed everyone. He explained that the "normal" sequence of our general meetings was going to be changed for this meeting because of scheduling difficulties. Our speaker for the meeting would give her presentation before our business meeting rather than after.

 Our speaker for the month was Kathy Jacobs. Kathy specializes in helping people from all backgrounds and all walks of life learn to use Microsoft Office to make their computing lives easier. As a PowerPoint and OneNote consultant, trainer, and writer, she has written about Office topics for her own site (www.OnPPT.com) and many other publications, including three books. She presents regularly on a variety of subjects at the Phoenix PC User Group where she is currently Vice President. The purpose or her was to introduce us to the new Microsoft Office 2007.  Microsoft Office 2007 is drastically different from any other version of Office you have ever seen. There is a new interface for you to see, a new file format for you to share, and new graphics for you to use. During her presentation, Kathy demonstrated some of the many new functions for several of the programs included in Office 2007. After her presentation she held a drawing for several Microsoft software programs, including one Office 2007 Professional program.

 Following Kathy’s presentation, President Santoro continued with our business meeting, He asked Gaela Roberts to say a few words about the upcoming DCC potluck. Gaela reported that the club would be providing the main dish along with beverages and table services, and attendees should bring a "dish to share". We are all looking to this event after it’s long absence from our calendar.

Speaking of our calendar, our regularly scheduled classes and workshops are up and running again along with several special classes. Several of our instructors were asked to report on their individual classes. Janet Harbaugh reported that her “Word” was going again and Judy Gardner told the group that her Genealogy group is well attended. All DCC members are welcome. Tom reminded the group to pick up a calendar and attend some of the classes and workshops the club provides for the price of your yearly membership, Dues are only $15.00 per year for an individual, $20.00 for a couple living in ,the same household. Memberships were due February 15 for the current year; however, the club will accept memberships at any time so don't hesitate to sign up and become a member if you have not done so already,

 Your computer club would be remiss without dedicating a few words in article to the new things that are happening in the world of computers. With the long awaited unveiling of the Windows Vista operating system and the new Office 2007, computer users are going to be making many decisions in the near future whether to upgrade to these new, full featured programs or not. Everyone seems to have an opinion on the new programs and many discussions are sure to follow for some time to come. Although none of us are experts, the computer club is a good place to have these discussions and a good resource to help with gathering information needed to make these decisions. If you have an interest in computing or knowledge about these new systems and products that you would like to share with members of the club, we would love to see you.