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As most of you read this, I will be preparing to journey to Copenhagen for the International Convention. I am looking forward to having a good time there and seeing many of you in the ICUFR Booth (Number B3-048 in the House of Friendship). So far, we have had several volunteers to help man the booth, but we can always use more. If you plan to attend any part of the convention, please try to find time to drop by and help us out. If we don’t have at least two people to man the booth at all times, we will simply have to shut it down until such time as enough people are available; but, obviously, that does not present a very good picture of ICUFR. Elsewhere in this newsletter you will find information on some exciting plans we are making that will insure that your membership in ICUFR is worthwhile. We will be instituting some “Members Only” features. Let us know what you think. A few brave souls have already registered for the ICUFR Conference in Ithaca, New York in October. I urge you to sign up soon and reserve your hotel room. If you have to back out at the last minute, you can always cancel, as long as you do it early enough to avoid penalties. In response to some questions that I have had, if you are coming from overseas, and won’t have the time to hire a car at your point of entry and leisurely make your way to Ithaca, I urge you to make you plane reservations via Detroit or Philadelphia, as it is through those two cities that you can make the best connections directly into Ithaca. When next month rolls around, we will be entering a new Rotary year and a new year for ICUFR. Let’s all pull together to make it a great one. |
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Members Only website section In accordance with the ICUFR membership decisions voted on at our annual conference, held in conjunction with the RI Convention in Chicago 2005, The Board of Directors has voted for a "Members Only" Section to be in the ICUFR Website. This will be particularly for the monthly Newsletter. The majority of the website will remain open to any visitor, Rotarian or not. The purpose of a "Members Only" section is that many members feel that if a person pays the $10 fee to join the ICUFR he/she should have something of value that non-members can not access. The planning for this has involved two steps: The ICUFR dues are US$10 or UK7GBP, which is less than most of the other RI fellowships. We use the dues primarily to finance our web site, forum, data base, and to pay the expenses of our participation at RI conventions, which is expensive (booth, tables, electrical, online connection, computer/printer rental & insurance - one or all depending on where the Convention is held and what is necessary). There are NO salaries paid, or expenses for anyone. The ICUFR Conference expenses are designed to be paid for by those who attend. The email Newsletter will be sent to each CURRENT member and the pretty version will be on the website in the "Members Only" Section. The above actions will be affective on August 15th, which allows time to adequately advise our members of the changes, and how they will access them. Instructions for ID and PW will be sent by then. Associate Membership Reminder: we have an Associate membership for those who live in areas of the world where you cannot get an International Credit Card, and sending the $10 dues in USDollars. We ask instead that you donate an equivalent amount to your Club or District, in your own monetary system, and have your President or Secretary notify us by email that it is done. |
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End of the (Support) Line for Windows 98/Me If you still have computers running Windows 98 or Me, be aware that Microsoft will retire public and technical support for both operating systems in July 2006. That means no more security or other updates, although current support documents will still be available on the Microsoft web site. This may pose a dilemma for some users, who now must decide whether to go ahead and upgrade their 98/Me computers to Windows XP, wait for Vista in early 2007, or just continue to run the unsupported operating systems.
How secure is your online banking? Here's an eye-opener: a blog from SANS, the respected computer security institute, reveals that many banks are not using SSL encryption to secure online banking transactions by default. This includes major banks such as Bank of America, Chase, Wachovia and Washington Mutual. Although all offer "optional" SSL authentication, many computer users who aren't tech pros will not realize that they have to do something extra to secure the connection. I was relieved to find that the bank where we keep our primary personal and business checking and savings account does use SSL by default, but another bank where we have some investment accounts does not. All of us who use online banking need to check on how our banks handle this and use customer persuasion to get it changed so that all use SSL authentication by default. To find out more and to view the list of banks that make SSL optional, see:
Find the Best Deal with Live Product Search Microsoft keeps adding new specialized search services to their Windows Live lineup, and one of the latest to cross our radar is the Live Product Search, which will operate something like the popular Froogle service. You'll be able to do price comparisons on products you're thinking of buying and you'll be able to set search parameters based on categories, brands, sellers and keywords. For more info on this and other Windows Live features, see:
This Week's Links We Like. Tips, Hints And Fun Stuff Top secret (well, they used to be) recipes Nutrition Calculator Searching in vain for the perfect blog? Write a letter of complaint or commendation Check your spelling Hard-to-find 800 Numbers: here they are! Stellarium: free open source planetarium for your computer Printable maps of the U.S. History Buffs' Heaven Send Monk-E-mail THANKS TO: If you have feedback or wish to write to the editor, write to us at feedback@wxpnews.com |
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