Read the eBulletin online HAL-PC/HALNet eBulletin for June 2008
HAL-PC Monthly eBulletin - June 2008

Welcome to the April 2008 edition of the HAL-PC/HALNet monthly eBulletin. If you wish to stop receiving these bulletins, send an email to e-bulletin-off@hal-pc.org. This month: Summer Meeting, HALNet ADSL, Coming Events, Clear Lake, SIG News, Class Listing, Board Of Directors Election, Volunteer of the Month, Magazine.

Summer Meeting - Use Your Computer to Save $$ On Phone Service!

Join us on Saturday, June 21 at 1:00 for our Summer Meeting! HAL-PC President/HALNet System Administrator Robert Gunn will will speak on how to get free long distance and cheap phone service via computer! We've all heard the hype about Voice Over IP technology. Robert has extensive personal experience with various services and will sort it all out for you. Learn the ins and outs of Skype and OneSuite services and a new service that provides free long distance! He will demonstrate all these technologies and answer your questions. After this meeting you should be able to make a confident choice and start saving money!!

HALNet ADSL

Want the speed and convenience of an always-on broadband connection without the hassles of foreign call centers or notoriously poor customer service? HALNet has an ADSL plan for every user! Upgrade your connection now - call 713-993-3300 and ask for the ADSL tech to see if your phone line qualifies for ADSL.

HAL-PC/HALNet ADSL Customers: please have your ADSL phone number handy when talking to Doug our ADSL Coordinator. This makes an ADSL customer data look-up faster. Also remember, before calling, please do the ADSL Troubleshooting steps first. "Troubleshooting Your HALNet ADSL Connection"

COMING EVENTS

Basics 101 -- CD/DVD Music Basics
Saturday, June 7 - 1:00 - 3:30 pm
It's HOT; don't leave those expensive CD's in the truck! Put 5 hrs quality music on one CD, for that long drive into West Texas.

COMING AT CLEAR LAKE

Digital Photography SIG No Meeting in July

General Computer SIG - Saturday, June 28 - 9:30 am: Steve Kennedy, HAL-PC SIG Leader, "Computer Gaming: From Pong to Portal"

Computer Investing SIG - No Meeting in July

Camcorder & Video SIG - No Meeting in July

SIG NEWS

The following Special Interest Groups have specific programs posted for their upcoming meetings. Please refer to the SIG Calendar for a complete listing of HAL-PC SIG meeting dates and times. If you are interested in starting a Special Interest Group that is not currently on our calendar, contact the Vice President for SIGS. Remember - June is election month for SIG leaders! Be sure to turn your paperwork in to the Member Services Coordinator in the office.

INTERESTED IN FORMING A PROFESSIONAL DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY SIG?
Bob Stewart would like to hear from others in HAL that would be interested in starting a professional level digital photography SIG. He envisions a workshop style SIG where members work with each other to hone their skills in different areas of photography. These areas would include portraits, weddings, business issues, and software. His potential meeting day is the 3rd Saturday of the month from 9 AM to Noon. Please contact Bob at robert@RLStewartPhotography.com to express interest.

COMPUTER INVESTING SIG: Fridays -- 10:00 am (NOTE NEW TIME!!!):
Our Friday AM investment sig will continue to meet Friday at 10am. Our goal continues to offer programs to help investors deal with a difficult market using and demonstrating programs designed for the individual to assess and make thoughtful decisions. We use four different programs to accomplish this and they are demonstrated on a regular basis. We also maintain a
refined market web site that is open to all.

MULTI MEDIA SIG: Movie Screening Thursday, June 11 -- 6:30 pm
Several of us will be shooting a movie for the 48 Hour Film Contest. More info here. Our movie will be screened on the following Thursday - come see it and vote for us:
Thursday, June 11 @ 6.30p - SCREENING C
The River Oaks Theatre
2009 W Gray St
Houston, TX 77019
713.524.2175

Tickets (purchase at box office)
$9 – General Admision
$16 – Double Feature (both shows of same night)

BEGINNING VISUAL FOX PRO: Tuesday, June 10 -- 6:30 pm
Rich Monroe will present and demonstrate his application control class

ADVANCED VISUAL FOX PRO: Tuesday, June 10 -- 7:30 pm
Ed Hardin presents Tips & Tricks. As always, your questions are welcome. After the Advanced session, join us at Ninfa's on Post Oak for our Even More Advanced Session/Nervous System Recalibration.

STOCK MARKET: Saturday, June 14 -- 2:00 pm
Our current financial crisis has reduced many shares to attractive levels which offer long term potential not seen in several years. This class emhasizes fundamentals rather than technical trading. It is intended for long term investors. Ideal for age 20 and up. Covers personal finance, budgeting, intermarket analysis and equity securities analysis. Please email the SIG leader if you plan to attend.

BEGINNING C#: Tuesday, June 17 -- 6:00 pm
We will discuss XML - what it is, why it is important and some of the .NET classes uses to manipulate XML files.

WEB DESIGN: Tuesday, June 24 -- 7:00 pm
The Web Design SIG will conclude our discussion on the five concepts we learned for creating professional and captivating websites by applying them to a sample website. The concepts of layout, color, texture, typography, and imagery are part of the design process that professional designers use to develop great websites. We will also briefly cover basic PHP code that can simplify site maintenance and points to consider in selecting a web host. We will have a giveaway of T-shirts and books.

LINUX WORKSHOP: Wednesdays -- 6:00 pm
Installations & hands-on problem solving every Wednesday except when HAL is closed. This is an informal meeting where knowledgable HLUG members help each other & beginners one on one. Dinner after at Biba's West Grey 9:30pm. You don't have to attend the meeting to come eat with us.

Upcoming Classes - HAL-PC Headquarters

Map To Facility

Check the Class Calendar for the latest additions to the schedule

BOARD OF DIRECTORS ELECTION

Online voting is available until 5:00 pm, June 21 for the HAL-PC Board of Directors election. You will need your voting key to access the online ballot - your key is printed in the upper left corner of the mailing label of you Summer HAL-PC Magazine. Candidate statements and full details of voting procedure are in the Magazine and on the election information page of the HAL website. If you do not receive your Magazine and your membership was current on May 15, 2008, you may email the election committee and retrieve your voting key. In person voting will be available at HAL-PC Headquarters on Saturday, June 21 from 2:00 - 5:00 pm. You will need your voting key to vote in person.

JUNE VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH

June's HAL-PC Volunteer of the Month is Joe Collins. Joe volunteers on the front desk answering phones and helping members twice a week. He also makes follow-up phone calls to members whose memberships have expired and brings them back into the fold. Thank you, Joe, for your faithful service!

THIS MONTH'S MAGAZINE

Look for informative articles in the HAL-PC Magazine online
If you do not receive your Summer edition of the printed magazine, please phone the office! You may need to update your address information, or renew your HAL-PC membership!