Daily Record, September 3, 2005, “Time of Your Life” section

Techno Tutoring

For what ever the reason, computer club keeps members coming back

By Christine Wang

Members of the Morris Micro Computer Club have a variety of reasons for joining the group. The reasons range from learning what’s new in the computer world to finding out what other computer users are running on their systems.

Nancy Kilpatrick of Chatham works in information technology had found the Internet invaluable when her mother was diagnosed with cancer.

“Using Internet resources, I was able to fully explore treatment options, facilities, clinical trials and doctors” she said. “This made it much easier to choose and work with doctors, understand the benefits and risks of each treatment, to ask the doctors better questions, and to make better health decisions. Without the Internet resources, we would no have been so well informed or been as confident in making the decisions.”

‘Stayed for Fun’

Paul Natanson of Bernards, a semiretired chemical and environmental engineer now does consulting work as a Visual Basic for applications computer programmer, mostly in Microsoft Excel.

“After attending a few MMCC meetings to learn what it specialized to, I decided to stay just for fun”, Natanson, 55, said.

Amateur and professional personal computer ussers can give and get information on the newest computer developments and peskiest computer problems at the monthly MMCC meetings at the Morris County Library.

The club formed in 1981, when a group of Apple comuter users, originally calling themselves “Apple Jacks”, met in the Madison Public Library. The group moved to the Library of the Chathams until it found its current home in the Morris County Library, Whippany in 2000.

“We moved because the Morris County Library has a projector and telephone connection,” said John FLory, who has served as president for the past 10 years.

While 15 to 25 people typically attend the monthly meetings, 50 members are on the roster and all have sone say in choosing meeting topics.

“We hold an advanced plan session and survey 10 topics,” Flory said.

Return to Program

After a summer switch to open discussions of computer concerns during June, July, and August, the club resumes its regular format of planned programs in the fall. “Introduction to the MAC for Windows Users” is slated for Thursday. Members also can learn how to do library research from home in October, and how to protect against fraud and theft over the Internet, tentatively set for November.

At the May 12 meeting, officer elections preceded Flory’s program on “Computer Mappping and Navigation Programs”. Bill Weygandt of Rockaway, the newly elected president of the club, will join Vice President Frank Weitzman of Parsippany and Treasurer Bud Holzman of Madison in navigating the club during the next year. Flory is the club’s new secretary.

Weygandt and his son, Troy, 15, have become regular attendees of MMCC during the past few months. Bothe are Mac based computer users.

“I am also in Essex County’s Macintosh Users Group”, said Weygandt, who works as a magazine ublisher. “I am looking for a Wintel group now – Windows on Intel.”

Weygandt’s background includes working with Bell Labs for 18 years, then for companies such as AT&T and Hewlett Packard. “I built theUnix system labs and did Unix Ware with a joint venture with Novell” he said. Troy Weygandt is also an avid computer users who has studied Visual Basic at Morris Hills High School. “I also know Java Script, HTML and C,” he said.

Joseph Saunier, 65, of Denville, a retired computer programmer and operations manager, wrote his own system to manage his stock portfolio. His home computer has been a handy tool for stock transaction record keeping for income tax purposes. he said.

“My system is procratination free – that is, provided I want to know each Friday how I am doing in the maket, and I always do..”

Another thing he’s dound handy is using his computer to learn natural languages.

“It is very good practice to learn by keying in German and Russian text, using Microsoft Word 2000, for example from (Boris) Pasternack’s ‘Dr. Zhivago’ or (Franz) Kafka’s ‘Die Verwandlung.’ I have also edited a 70 page compilation of German ‘surface grammar’”, he said.

Returns with Wife

Roy Caprarola of Morris Township returned after his first meeting two years ago. This time with wife Dede accompanying him. A self-described “real novice,” she said that her purpose in coming was simply to “learn a little and absorb what ever we can.”

No matter what their expertise, members now find it hard to imagine life without computers.

“When I was a teenager,” Natanson said, “we had no computers, no touch-tone phones, no fax machines, no e-mail, not even photocopiers. It is amazing how far we have come. I wish I could live long enough to see what the next 100 years will bring.

Techno Tutoring

For what ever the reason, computer club keeps members coming back

Members of the Morris Micro Computer Club have a variety of reasons for joining the group. The reasons range from learning what’s new in the computer world to finding out what other computer users are running on their systems.

Nancy Kilpatrick of Chatham works in information technology had found the Internet invaluable when her mother was diagnosed with cancer.

‘Stayed for Fun’

Paul Natanson of Bernards, a semiretired chemical and environmental engineer now does consulting work as a Visual Basic for applications computer programmer, mostly in Microsoft Excel.

“After attending a few MMCC meetings to learn what it specialized to, I decided to stay just for fun”, Natanson, 55, said.

Amateur and professional personal computer ussers can give and get information on the newest computer developments and peskiest computer problems at the monthly MMCC meetings at the Morris County Library.

The club formed in 1981, when a group of Apple comuter users, originally calling themselves “Apple Jacks”, met in the Madison Public Library. The group moved to the Library of the Chathams until it found its current home in the Morris County Library, Whippany in 2000.

“We moved because the Morris County Library has a projector and telephone connection,” said John FLory, who has served as president for the past 10 years.

While 15 to 25 people typically attend the monthly meetings, 50 members are on the roster and all have sone say in choosing meeting topics.

“We hold an advanced plan session and survey 10 topics,” Flory said.

Top picks have included topics such as “Backing Up Your Computer,”, PDF Makers, Adobe Acrobat & Alternatives”, and “Digital Photo Editing”.

Return to Program

Weygandt and his son, Troy, 15, have become regular attendees of MMCC during the past few months. Bothe are Mac based computer users.

“I am also in Essex County’s Macintosh Users Group”, said Weygandt, who works as a magazine ublisher. “I am looking for a Wintel group now – Windows on Intel.”

Joseph Saunier, 65, of Denville, a retired computer programmer and operations manager, wrote his own system to manage his stock portfolio. His home computer has been a handy tool for stock transaction record keeping for income tax purposes. he said.

“My system is procratination free – that is, provided I want to know each Friday how I am doing in the maket, and I always do..”

Another thing he’s dound handy is using his computer to learn natural languages.

“It is very good practice to learn by keying in German and Russian text, using Microsoft Word 2000, for example from (Boris) Pasternack’s ‘Dr. Zhivago’ or (Franz) Kafka’s ‘Die Verwandlung.’ I have also edited a 70 page compilation of German ‘surface grammar’”, he said.

Returns with Wife

Roy Caprarola of Morris Township returned after his first meeting two years ago. This time with wife Dede accompanying him. A self-described “real novice,” she said that her purpose in coming was simply to “learn a little and absorb what ever we can.”

No matter what their expertise, members now find it hard to imagine life without computers.

“When I was a teenager,” Natanson said, “we had no computers, no touch-tone phones, no fax machines, no e-mail, not even photocopiers. It is amazing how far we have come. I wish I could live long enough to see what the next 100 years will bring.