Hi Everyone,

The Computer Group runs a meetings programme covering different computer devices (laptop, desktop, smartphone and tablet) and operating systems including Windows 10/11, Android and Apple. We meet in the Village Centre Chiltern Room on the 1st Friday of each month from 2.15pm to 3.45pm.

Our next meeting is on Friday 7th August 2026.

Our Meeting Topic is:-

Is the ever increasing speed of technological advance an advantage or a disadvantage?

The meeting will be an open Group discussion meeting following the Share, Ask, Learn (SAL) format.

Ask yourself- Is the ever increasing speed of technological advance to your advantage or disadvantage? What changes have you been required to make recent times?

In the space of one week in July I have had to get to grips with:

1. The digital home phone switch over
2. A new broadband provider (enforced change because of the digital home phone switch)
3. Smart meter installations for my gas and electricity supplies
4. Android Auto has started to play my incoming WhatsApp and Google Messages on my car speaker. Do I want to have my Android device read and respond to text messages hands-free while driving? Very distracting!

I’m sure that many of you will have had similar experiences in recent times that you would be willing to share with other members, ask questions about what the issues were and their impact and learn from the experiences   

The dates of our meetings in 2026 are given below

MONTH	TOPIC	Presenter
Friday 6th March 2026	Demonstration - how to repurpose redundant drives to provide more "stand alone" secure storage capacity Backups-benefits of using Microsoft OneDrive and Google Drive .	Bob Hine Peter Brook
Thursday 2nd April 2026	ASK-ANSWER-SHARE group session	Open Session
Friday 1st May 2026	1. What's the difference between passwords, passkeys, passcodes and PINs? 2. Google security checkup- an Overview	Peter Brook
Friday 5th June 2026	AI-Three possible futures- which will we choose (video)? Data Centres- laying the foundation for the future or creating unforseen results?	Peter Brook
Friday 3rd July 2026	Android Day (bring your smartphones and tablets)	Open Session
Friday 7th August 2026	Is the ever increasing speed of technological advance an advantage or a disadvantage?	Open Session
Friday 4th September 2026	TBA
Friday 2nd October 2026	TBA
Friday 6th November 2026	TBA
Friday 4th December 2026	TBA
Friday 1st January 2027	NO MEETING

Topics for future meetings

Please contact the Group Organiser using the link at the top of the Computer Group web page if you have any suggestions or requests about future topics to add to the programme.

Useful notes and presentations from previous meetings

MONTH	TOPIC	PRESENTER
September 2021	Online Security (Thames Valley Network talk) -click here to view notes prepared by Molly Milner	Mark Godsland (TVP)
Friday 1st September 2023	Setting up Windows 11 - click here to view the presentation notes	Molly Milner
Friday 1st September 2023	Setting up an Android device - click here to view the presentation notes	Peter Brook
Friday 1st December 2023	On-line Banking - click here to view the presentation notes	Richard Allan
Friday 6th September 2024	Security, specific to Windows 11 but applicable to earlier versions of Windows - click here to view the presentation notes	Molly Milner
Friday 4th October 2024	Wi Fi in the House- Routers and Extenders And Powerline - click here to view the presentation notes	Peter Brook
Friday 1st November 2024	Email- The Basics - click here to view the presentation notes	Peter Brook
Thursday 5th December 2024	Online payments - click here to view the presentation notes	Richard Allan
Friday 7th February 2025	Learning Technologies- click here to view the presentation notes	Lesley Price
Friday 7th March 2025	Comparing the features of Windows 11 v Windows 10 - click here to view the presentation notes	Molly Milner
Friday 7th March 2025	Options to upgrade or replace Windows 10 - click here to view the presentation notes	Peter Brook
Friday 4th April 2025	Cookies - What are they? - click here to view the presentation slides	Lesley Price
Friday 2nd May 2025	Sharing between devices - click here to view the presentation slides	Peter Brook
Friday 5th September 2025	Free Antivirus software for Windows 10 - click here to view the list	Molly Milner

If you are not a member of the Group at present but would like to take part or have a query you can contact the Computer Group Organiser using the link at the top of the Computer Group web page.

Peter Brook (Computer Group Organiser)