Although we are no longer in full lockdown there are still uncertainties and restrictions. So for the present we are continuing to hold out meetings online.
I hope you are all keeping safe and well and will be able to join us online. Contact Gareth ( or to iceni@woolridge.org.uk ) if you don't think you are on our meeting list of participants for online meetings if you are interested in joining in; since he is sending out the links prior to each meeting. There is nothing to download or install and we still meet on the third Wednesday of the month at 7:30 p.m. via Jitsi.org Video conferencing.
Peter
This will cover changes proposed by Apple and Microsoft to their repective operating platforms. Rumour has it that Windows 10 will become Windows 11 and Apple announce their next move from Big Sur to Monterey. Unfortunately for your Editor my MacBook Pro is now considered too old to take it. So Big Sur may be the end of the line for me. Don't the years go past quickly!
Since several people were unavailable for this evening, the originally scheduled meeting on Virtualisation was swapped with this Computer Surgery meeting.
The Virtualisation meeting will now be held in October.
Duncan sent this input to Peter after the meeting.
I thought we had a good meeting last night, even if we spent a lot of it talking about ticket machines in car parks!
One thing I mentioned was the attempt to view the Risc OS machine from somewhere else. I found that this is a two-part process - a server on the machine to be viewed, and a client on the machine that is viewing it. On RISC OS I found I had already got a folder containing a module called "vncserver" a !run and a stop file an a ReadMe. All that is needed to make it work is to load the module and then run the !run file. This can be modified to specify the password and port number and a few other things. I then demonstrated viewing the X6 from within Windows using TightVNC. TightVNC also comes with a server, and today I have been able to view Windows from the X6 using a software client called !Avalanche.
I've also been able to view the X6 from within Linux, but the reverse has defeated me at the moment. TightVNC for Linux is out of date, and the later version TigerVNC seems to be command line only.
I also showed the frame aerial for medium wave reception I made back
in the late 1970s. It's 1 metre square, and has 7 turns of wire with a
500pF variable capacitor across the ends. The capacitor had seized up,
and I have taken it apart and cleaned it. As it uses plastic dielectric rather than air, it was quite fiddly and I found that the washers came in two different thicknesses. I also had to prepare a wooden block to rest it on so as to have hands free to add the bits as it was re-assembled.
We spent a while talking about charging cameras when mains supplies were not available as when camping. I've got a different charger on order and I'll see if it works. You offered the loan of a solar panel battery charger for which many thanks - it will be a week or so before I know if I need to take up the offer.
Duncan
Peter had had some difficulties saving a PDF file generated from Ghostscript on his RPC from the original Easiwriter file ( 8.73 ) or HTML file and although this did appear to work it resulted in only saving part of the document which was odd. This needs more investigation.
He had eventually had to transfer the HTML file to Windows and use the print routine to generate a PDF.
Again Duncan commented that for printing to PDF, you could use PrintPDF (which uses Ghostscript) or get better results with the commercial PostScript3 printer driver from MW software.
Duncan
Peter had also shown some photos of starting his repair of a Mac Magsafe power supply with a damaged cable. It is possible to purchase the new cables with magsafe connector and there were several YouTube videos showing how to separate the two halves of the unit. Unfortunately Apple glue the supply case together which makes it awkward to disassemble. He also found that the solder appears to be quite high melting point. (360°C). So this task is not quite finished yet. Here are some of the photos showing the power unit and circlip pliers used to open it. Also the replacement cable and power connections where it will be fitted.
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If anyone would like to present a talk please let us know. As always there is scope for adjustments as we go through the year and we are hoping the Covid restrictions will have eased and we can have the social functions. Once the restrictions allow in-person meetings it has been suggested that we alternate our meetings between online and in-person as it has been quite convenient for several of us to avoid going out but still attend a meeting. Gareth suggests this may need a decision at the AGM.
Peter
| ICENI Future programme 2021/2022 | ||
| 2021 | ||
| July 21st | Operating System Updates | All |
| August 18th | Social Evening TBA (if allowed) | All |
| September 15th | Raspberry Pi, Arduino, Microbit | All |
| October 20th | Virtualisation | All |
| November 17th | Slides and Video | All |
| December 15th | Gadgets and Party | All |
| 2022 | ||
| January 19th | Social Evening | All |
| February 16th | Photo and Video Editing | All |
| March 16th | Home Networking and Network Storage | All |
| April 20th | Apps and App Stores | All |
| May 18th | AGM + Extras | All |
MEETINGS WILL NOW BE HELD ONLINE BUT STILL ON THE THIRD WEDNESDAY UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. FURTHER DETAILS TO FOLLOW.
Our meetings are held at the Bourne Vale Social Club, Halifax Road,
Ipswich IP2 8RE ,
for a map and other details please see the website. http://icenicomputerclub.org.uk
Membership fee currently £15, visitors free.
"ICENI does not have any Insurance cover for computers or other equipment so please be advised that you bring machines to the club at your own risk."
However many household insurance policies will include cover away from home often with no increase in premium. (Ed.)
Our website URL is
http://icenicomputerclub.org.uk
Email to: iceni@woolridge.org.uk
I am open to suggestions on what people would like to have included in the website. If anyone would like a copy of our old newsletters on CD this could be arranged.