April Monthly Bulletin

Aging in Place (With the Help of a Smart Home)

As we grow older, the need for a support system becomes greater, including assistance from family members, caregivers, or even a residence that is designed to accommodate seniors. We’re more prone to reduced vision, less mobility, risk of falls, and more. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could safely and comfortably stay in our homes just awhile longer? Some basic smart home devices can do a lot to make that happen.

Smart home devices such as cameras, video doorbells, smoke alarms, and voice-activated speakers can easily make our everyday life safer, more convenient, and help us continue to be social. But before you run out and buy these smart home devices, become informed…and have a plan.

The Plan – Identify the areas where smart home devices could make your life easier. Maybe discuss this with a family member, or even a friend.

Arrange Tech Support – In addition to providing the installation, ensure someone is available to troubleshoot any problems and keep the software updated.

Organize Controls – It’s best to use one app, and the Google Home app is the best and easiest to use. It works equally well on either Android phones or iPhones.

Emergency Contacts – Some smart home devices can be configured to automatically text or call a relative, friend or any third party, as well as 911.

Smart home devices have reached such a level of sophistication, they can not only provide assurance to a distant loved one that you are in a safer environment but let them communicate with you. If desired, cameras that monitor your home can also provide 2-way communications with your family members and should you fall, and your voice can even trigger an alert on their phone. Some devices you should consider are:

– Home security cameras for communication or for monitoring who is coming and going.

– Video doorbells that let you answer your front door from the comfort of your smartphone, wherever you are in your home.

– Smart lighting for dark hallways and entryways, automatically lighting up as you enter the area when it’s dark.

– Smart plugs with timers that can ensure devices like coffee makers and fans are automatically turned on and off at appropriate times of day.

Most smart devices are simple to set up with a smartphone. They can send notifications when activated, and in many cases, they provide remote-access control. A well-planned system can allow you to be monitored and assisted by a loved one, in emergencies or just day to day, depending on your situation.

The decision to use this technology obviously involves security and privacy concerns. But experts for the aging note that the decision should take into consideration that safety is of the highest importance, and if a person has to be home alone, a way to monitor them is a reasonable solution.

The TVCUC is considering the formulation of a Smart Home Special Interest Group (SIG). This group would be led by an expert in smart home technology and presentations/discussions would focus on choosing, installing and using smart home devices and could also include cord-cutting topics. This group would be an inclusive service to TVCUC members and if you are interested in learning more about smart home technology, please send us an email.

Other Club News

In other news, TAP continues to be active in refurbishing and providing computer systems to needy children in the surrounding local areas. We still need your help for this, so if a new computer is in your future, please consider donating your old computer (and printer) to TAP. As of the end of March, we have refurbished and donated 9,365 computer systems to help 13,819 deserving children and family members. What an amazing accomplishment…KUDOS to TAP!

The TVCUC is always looking for volunteers. If you would like to give back in the form of helping with our club’s educational efforts, or even serving on our board of directors (a board position is currently open), please let us know by sending an email.

Larry McJunkin, President

March Monthly Bulletin

President’s Message

I’m devoting this entire monthly bulletin to a very important topic that affects us all – digitally preparing for when we’re gone. Seldom a month goes by that I, or someone else on the FLS team, helps a member access a deceased loved one’s phone or computer to obtain access to financial accounts and other information. This happened to me again yesterday and prompted me to write this.

Death is inevitable – don’t make it even more difficult for those you leave behind. Here is some basic advice on how to ensure your loved ones can manage passwords, sensitive data, and social media profiles after you die. As we live more of our lives online, it’s increasingly important to enable our spouses or designated family members to access digital information when we’re gone. Follow these steps to make sure this process is less difficult for them.

The first, and by far the most important of these, is a password manager. This contains the keys to all your digital accounts, like banking and credit card information and any other important information. We often remind members how important it is to have a password manager, so please don’t keep putting this off. This is absolutely the single most critical thing you can do to make it easier on your loved one after you’re gone.

While ensuring your partner, or other family members, have access to your financial information is important, don’t forget about social media. Preserving profiles may seem trivial, but our lives are increasingly lived online in places like Facebook, so these accounts are the modern version of physical photo albums, letters, and other keepsakes.

Facebook lets you select a legacy contact who will memorialize your account and keep a pared-down version of your profile active after your death. A memorialized account will show a banner on your profile indicating that you’re deceased, remove your account from public search results, and turn off birthday reminders. Friends will still be able to post messages on your timeline, if you choose to allow it. To set up your legacy contact in Facebook and learn more about this service, click here for more information.

You can also opt to have your Facebook account deactivated after you die. Under Memorialization Settings, scroll down and click Request that your account be deleted after you pass away, and opt in in the pop-up window.

For your Gmail account, Google offers anInactive Account Manager that automatically turns over control of your account to a designated person after a set period of inactivity. To set this up, go to this page, logon, and click Start. Then, decide how long you want to wait before Google declares your account inactive (by default, this is set to three months.) Below that, add or verify your phone number and another contact or recovery email. Google will attempt to contact you multiple times via this number or email before it turns your account over to someone else. When you’re done, click Next and follow the remainder of instructions for other optional actions you want Google to take.

If you have Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) set up on important accounts (and you should have), your loved ones will need access to your phone in addition to your username and passwords to intercept secondary codes. One option is to add a trusted person’s fingerprint or face to your phone. If you have an iPhone with TouchID, you can add an extra fingerprint by going toSettings > Touch ID & Passcode > Add a fingerprint. If you have an iPhone X or above, simply add another Face ID in the same Settings area of your iPhone.

Options for Android phones vary, depending on which device you have, but a quick Google search for your specific device should put you on the right track to make your phone accessible for obtaining the 2FA code.

After you’ve taken the preceding steps, a good portion of your data should be readily accessible to those you leave behind. However, not every service offers an easy way of granting access. Remember to include the login information for any backup service you use. Otherwise, it’s a good idea to get in the habit of saving your work to an external hard drive or flash drive that your loved ones can easily access.

If you have a Windows PC or a Mac, there are many methods you can use to save a backup of your most important files. You can use File History in Windows, or Time Machine on a Mac, to make regular backups that can be easily retrieved by your loved ones.

Everyone needs to have at least a simple will, but do you have one? Do you know you can easily create one online? Services like LegalZoom, and others, let you put everything to writing before it’s too late. Depending on the complexity of your wealth and estate, a simple online will might not be sufficient. It’s best to seek advice from an attorney or credible advisor.

One final option to consider is recording a video. By doing this, you can document all the things your loved one or family member needs to do, even adding viewable instructions. And you can include how-to instructions for the not-so-important things. The possibilities of this are endless and you can easily do it yourself by turning on Screen Share in Zoom or Google Meet and then recording your session.

Most importantly, do something! Don’t wait until it’s too late and your partner or family member is faced with not only losing you but dealing with the burden of trying to access financial and other important information without the proper keys to unlock it. Doing “these” things and having “that” talk are difficult, but they’ll make it easier for someone you love.

Larry McJunkin, President

President’s Message

This month’s message is about our Technology Access Program (TAP) and the helping nature of our members.

The recent tornadoes in Tennessee and Kentucky wreaked havoc with thousands of families, leaving them homeless and stripped of all their possessions. No one felt this devastation more than the children. Adults are more resilient and understanding and can better cope with tragedies like this. But children are easily scarred for life by such events.

Once the need became apparent, TAP began working with the Kiwanis to provide laptops (because of living space restrictions) for these displaced families. We sent out appeals in Nextdoor and other places for laptops and the response of people both in and around Tellico Village has been overwhelming and heartwarming.

As the donated laptops arrive at TAP, they’re cleaned, the operating systems re-installed, and some basic software and utilities are added. They are then picked up by Kiwanis volunteers, who work with the local school systems to find new homes for the refurbished computers with families affected by the tornadoes.

I want to first thank the many volunteers who work at TAP for the endless hours they have given in this effort, and the many other purposeful causes to which TAP donates refurbished computers. In the past 15 years TAP has refurbished nearly 10,000 computer systems that have been repurposed to help over 13,500 youths and families. Most of these have found new homes near Tellico Village, but some have gone to other states.

I also want to thank our generous members, and others in Tellico Village, for donating computers they no longer need or are replacing. These acts of kindness enable TAP to help nearly a thousand needy children and families every year. In the past two years, when online learning has become so intensified by the pandemic, your generosity has made a huge positive impact on so many children. We sincerely thank you!

Larry McJunkin, President

TVCUC Updates

Membership Committee. Last chance to pay your 2022 dues. Members who haven’t renewed for 2022 are ineligible for free technology assistance from our First Level Support team. To renew your membership in the TVCUC, click here and then select the blue “Join or Renew” button. This will take you to the TVCUC page on TellicoLife.org where you can either securely pay by credit card or pay by check. If paying by check, be sure to print out the invoice and take it, along with your check for $20, to our TAP office (located under the Thai Bistro – enter from the rear of the building). The payment process MUST occur on TellicoLife.org. 

First Level Support. Our FLS team was exceptionally busy during January. We’re not sure if this was caused by all the new technology presents received over the holidays, or just an increasing interest in becoming more tech-savvy. Regardless, the team fielded 98 support calls in January, setting an all-time monthly record. Go Team FLS! If you have a question about your computer, the Windows or Mac operating systems, or any of your technology devices, you can initiate a support request here. For hardware issues, such as hard drive replacement, etc., we will refer you to a TVCUC approved individual here in Tellico Village who is certified to repair your computer.

Financial Update. The TVCUC Treasurer is exceptionally busy during the first couple of months of each year. This period is when several state forms must be prepared and submitted, and it’s also when we begin preparing for our annual audit. As a Tennessee registered 501c3 nonprofit organization and because we receive donations from several major funding organizations, we are required to keep exemplary financial records.

Dave Flanagan is the TVCUC Treasurer, and for nearly two years, he has done an amazing job of guiding our organization financially, helping to rewrite the financial sections of our Operating Manual and dealing with hundreds of reconciliations and transactions monthly. The TVCUC’s finances are currently in the best hands possible. Thanks, Dave!

Admin Update. Sometimes, it’s easy to take for granted all the things in life we expect to just happen. A newsletter appears in our inbox, a receipt arrives for our annual dues, we receive a notice about an upcoming event or tour, and many other things to which we don’t give a second thought. But for all these things, someone is behind the scenes, ensuring they happen. For the TVCUC, that someone is Ken Van Swearingen.

For nearly five years, Ken has been the driving force behind all that connects the TVCUC with its members. He is our primary club admin and as such, is responsible for all the geeky things that occur on the back end of the club’s presence on TellicoLife. Email blasts, monthly bulletins, credit card transactions, membership statistics, calendar events, and a host of other things we need to keep TVCUC running smoothly.

Being an admin can be a thankless job, so please join me in thanking Ken for the countless hours he gives our club in support of administrative and technical efforts, and many other volunteer tasks. As past president, and member of our board of directors, we sincerely appreciate all you do!

Trending Technology Articles

New Features for Windows 11 Taskbar. The new taskbar is one of the most controversial changes of Windows 11. The updated taskbar, which comes without extremely basic features like drag and drop, has been disliked by a lot of users. But the good news is that Microsoft is listening to feedback, and it is fixing most of the issues with the taskbar in the upcoming Sun Valley 2 update. Microsoft has been mulling over this update for over six months, and now they’re finally implementing it. To find out when, and if you can test this feature early, click to read the full article.

What’s New in macOS 12.1 Monterey. macOS 12 Monterey, unveiled in June 2021 at WWDC, is the current version of macOS that was released on Monday, October 25. Compared to macOS Big Sur, macOS Monterey is a smaller update, but there are still many notable new features that improve the Mac experience. Universal Control is perhaps one of the biggest updates, allowing a single mouse, trackpad, and keyboard to be used across multiple Macs and also the iPad for moving content between devices. For all things new in the latest 12.1 update to macOS Monterey, click to read the full story.

Some Good Advice “Before” Cutting the Cord. We often talk about “Cutting the Cord”, and for good reason. Every day, more and more of our members do cut the cord and free themselves of expensive cable and satellite solutions that seem to be costing more but delivering less. The phone rings here several times monthly with someone in need of basic advice about taking this big step. The folks over at CNET have put together a great article that is filled with simple, basic guidance and questions to ask yourself before you cut the cord. If you’re thinking about ditching cable (and you really should), head over to CNET and read the full article.

Should I Leave Facebook? This is not a controversial question, but merely some simple guidance if you’re thinking about leaving Facebook…or perhaps would like to just suspend it for a while to see if you can live without it. Many folks are rightfully concerned about their online privacy, the polarizing effects of being on social media, or they just want to disconnect altogether. But do you really want to leave completely? There are two ways to get rid of a Facebook account: You can temporarily deactivate your account or choose to permanently delete it. Today online has put together some of the best guidance we’ve seen regarding what to do next if you’re in this quandary. To learn more before pulling the plug on Facebook, read what they have to say.

President’s Message

We’ve been receiving lots of questions about Windows 11. Should I upgrade? Is Windows 11 a big change? Will I have to learn everything again? Do I have to upgrade? What happens if I don’t upgrade? I’ll address these concerns again and provide some additional insight about Microsoft’s newest of version of the Windows operating system.

The most important of the repeated questions we get is Should I upgrade to Windows 11.(Spoiler Alert – YES! But continue reading to learn why.) By now, when you buy a new PC, you’ll have no choice and Windows 11 will come pre-installed on it. And if you’re the type of person who wants the very latest and greatest, you should switch. But even if you’re not inclined to switch just yet, you’ll still be OK…at least for now. Microsoft has already addressed the initial problems in Windows 11 and recent updates have fixed these minor problems on all computers that have been updated. But eventually, Microsoft will stop providing updates to Windows 10.

I’ve been using Windows 11 since it first released and there is very little that changed functionally, so you will not need to learn things again. As for how it looks…I think the user interface is much more pleasing. Gone are the harsh square corners and antiquated look…these have been replaced by slightly rounded corners, a completely redesigned Start Menu, and Taskbar icons in the middle instead of on the right.

Unfortunately, not all computers can be upgraded. Microsoft didn’t do this to force you to buy a new computer…they did it because some older computers don’t have the necessary hardware and firmware to accommodate Windows 11. You can only do so much to assure backward compatibility, and in the case of Windows 11, to make it work with older computers would preclude it from embracing the new technology. It’s a line they had to draw. To find out if your current computer is eligible for the Windows 11 upgrade, go to this Microsoft webpage for the minimum requirements and to download a small app that will automatically check if your PC is compatible.

Larry McJunkin, President

TVCUC Updates

Technology Access Program. 2021 turned out to be a better year than we anticipated. Even with another full year of the pandemic, through 12/31 TAP refurbished and repurposed 766 systems. A total of 916 youths were served by these computers (some households have more than one child using the computer). This puts the TAP grand total through 12/31 at 9,111 systems, with 13,521 youths served. Every time I see these numbers, it makes me smile!

Membership Committee. If you haven’t paid your 2022 dues, you’re ineligible for free technology assistance from our First Level Support team. To renew your membership in the TVCUC, click here and then select the blue “Join or Renew” button. This will take you to the TVCUC page on TellicoLife where you can either securely pay by credit card or pay by check. If paying by check, be sure to print out the invoice and take it, along with your check for $20, to our TAP office (located under the Thai Bistro – enter from the rear of the building). The payment process MUST occur on TellicoLife.

First Level Support. This team of dedicated experts continues to help our members with in-home and remote-control support of their technology issues. Most problems with the Windows or Mac operating systems can be quickly solved, as can many other software-related problems. You can initiate a support request here. For hardware issues, such as hard drive replacement, etc., we will refer you to a TVCUC approved individual here in Tellico Village who is certified to repair your computer.

Trending Technology Articles

Windows 11 Cheat Sheet. Released in October 2021, Windows 11 is the first numbered update to Microsoft’s operating system in more than six years. You would expect there would be dramatic changes between Windows 11 and Windows 10. But there weren’t. To a great extent, Windows 11 looks and works much like its predecessor.

That said, there are quite a few minor differences between the two, and the new OS may take some getting used to, and this article will help. Whether you’ve upgraded a Windows 10 machine to Windows 11 or it came with a new PC, this cheat sheet will get you up to speed. Read the full article.

iPhone 12 “No-Sound” Recall. Just about a year after launching the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro, Apple started a service program for devices that see their speakers fail. Here’s how to check for iPhone 12 no-sound recall eligibility. Apple says that the no-sound service program affects iPhone 12 and 12 Pro smartphones that were originally made between October 2020 and April 2021 (but could have been sold after those dates).

The company says a “very small percentage” should see the speaker failure, but with Apple selling more than 100 million iPhone 12 devices, even a tiny percentage could mean hundreds of thousands of impacted smartphones. Read the full story.

Thinking About Cutting the Cord? Just in time for Super Bowl season, a three-month subscription to the YouTube TV streaming service is a little more affordable. Right now, new subscribers can pay $54.99 each month instead of $64.99 for your first three months. Normally, that would cost you around $195, so that means you’ll pay $165 by the end of this discount period. YouTube TV has become nearly synonymous with “Best Live TV Streaming Service” and it’s easy to see why. If you’re thinking about trying a live TV streaming service, this is your chance to try the best and save some money at the same time. Read the full article.

Request for Assistance. One of our TVCUC members is looking someone who can repair a Sony Reel-to-Reel tape deck. If you have any experience in this, please send us an email.

President’s Message

The holiday season is a time when we can all slow down a little, enjoy our families and friends, and start planning the new year ahead. On behalf of the TVCUC Board of Directors and our many volunteers, I wish each of you and your families health and happiness for the holiday season and the very best for the new year.

Larry McJunkin, President

(The TVCUC Monthly Bulletin will resume in January 2022.)