Evergreen Computer Club Meeting

March 14, 2016

Google Photos Kills Picasa

Google is retiring Picasa in order to entirely focus on Google Photos. Picasa started life outside Google in 2002, allowing users to organize and edit their photos before sharing them online. Google acquired Picasa in 2004, and it rapidly grew into a very popular application.

In 2015 Google launched Google Photos, a standalone service spun out of Google+. This was seen as the natural successor to Picasa, and that’s exactly how things have played out. The Picasa desktop app will die on March 15th, with Picasa Web Albums following suit on May 1st.

Thankfully, transitioning from Picasa to Google Photos is as easy as logging into the latter, as all photos and videos have already been moved across. However, practicality doesn’t always trump nostalgia, and we’re sure there will be people mourning the end of Picasa even though there’s a ready-made replacement in the form of Google Photos.

See also:

  • Picasa is still available. You can get it here:
  • Picasa has been replaced by Google Photos. To learn more about Google Photos, see the article How to Use Google Photos from the Desktop ( )
  • Advice from Google on Moving on from Picasa ( )
  • Alternatives to Picasa (only a few are free): Top Digital Photo Software for Family Photos
    ( )

Network Storage using USB port on router

ReadySHARE USB Storage

  • NETGEAR routers that support ReadySHARE allow you to connect a standard USB storage device (hard disk or flash) to the router and make it available to people on your network or over internet.
  • Most USB storage devices will work

Figure 1. NetGear Router – rear view – USB port is blue

Possible Uses of Network storage

  • File Sharing
  • Desktops, laptops on network
  • Including other Operating Systems, eg Linux
  • Unable to access from tablet, phone
  • Solution: AirDroid (for Android devices)
  • Central Backup


Wifi is slower than wire (USB cable, ethernet)Figure 2. Using Windows File Explorer to access Network Storage

Figure 3. Using Linux File manager to access Network Storage

Safe Computing – Safely eject USB storage device

  • Use internet browser to connect to your router. The URL is likely
  • Login using admin id and password
  • Click on “Readyshare” tab
  • Click "Safely remove USB device" button (see figure below)

Gale online course - Creating WordPress Websites

Gale Courses offers a wide range of highly interactive courses that you can take entirely online.

Courses run for six weeks and new sessions begin every month. All courses are led by expert instructors, many of whom are nationally known authors.

Offered through Guelph Public Library website ( )

Creating Wordpress Websites

-Six weeks, two lessons per week, quizzes, assignments, supplemental material, final exam

-Read and work along, 1.5 to 2.5 hours per lesson

-Material is up-to-date, very impressive considering how frequently WordPress changes!

-The course instructor is very active in the Discussion (Question) area

  • also has a teaching assistant
  • both are experienced, professional web developers

-Logical presentation of the material

-Goes beyond the mechanics of creating a website. Covers planning, best practices, advice.

WordPress

-WordPress started as a blogging system, but has evolved to be used as full content management system (used by almost 20% of the entire internet)

-WordPress.com which lets you get started with a new and free WordPress-based blog (WordPress.org is fee-based)

-thousands of plugins and widgets and themes

Google Perks

One employee told Fortune why Google is such a great place to work,saying:

“The company culture truly makes workers feel they’re valued and respected as a human being, not as a cog in a machine. The perks are phenomenal. From three prepared organic meals a day to unlimited snacks, artisan coffee and tea to free personal-fitness classes, health clinics, on-site oil changes, haircuts, spa truck, bike-repair truck, nap pods, free on-site laundry rooms, and subsidized wash and fold. The list is endless.”

Google’s perks for employees are legendary, which is why so many people want to work for the company. According toThe Country Caller, in its most recent hiring spree, Google advertised 1,000jobopenings, and received 2.7 million applications. Which means it can afford the luxury of only hiring the best of the best.

Internet Live Statistics

A few examples:

-Over 1 billion websites!

-View how many in one second

  • Google searches, emails (67% is spam)