Welcome to the Prescott Computer Society

Interested in Membership?

Information about joining PCS is available at our Membership Info page.

Online Meetings Using Zoom

PCS meetings are available to anyone, including non-members, who wish to join us online. We are using Zoom as a means of holding our meetings in the convenience of your own home.

Even if you're not a member of PCS we urge you to attend our online meetings. Both members and non-members may do so in advance of the meeting by registering below. You will receive a password and link to the meeting by email. This step is necessary to keep out spammers and hackers. You may join the meeting no earlier than 15 minutes prior to the scheduled start time.

Like what you see at PCS? Get all the benefits of membership when you JOIN NOW!

For information on how to get and use a Zoom account please click the button below.

Getting started with Zoom

For help with Zoom by John Carter please click the button below.

Zoom Help

December 18 - Saturday - 1:00-3:00 PM
Please note the meeting will be via ZOOM only. Not at the Library.
General meeting - Leader: JB Burke
Zoom meeting will open at 12:45 PM

Due to continuing, and accelerating, Coronavirus cases in Prescott and Yavapai County, this meeting will now be held via Zoom only. We apologize for that, and we will return to in-person meetings as soon as conditions allow.

First Hour: JB's Favorite Windows Utilities
JB has been computing for a loooong time, and he has always sought out those (generally free) programs that would make his computing smoother and hence his life easier. These programs (apps) deal with file management (File Explorer), hardware maintenance, document editing and viewing, app installing and uninstalling, system and file backup as well as performance and security. Be sure to attend, either in person or via Zoom, to take advantage of this informative program.

Second Hour: Tips & Tricks - Phil Ball
Today's program will be followed by Windows Master Phil Ball with another helping of his famous Windows 10 Tips & Tricks. No matter how well you know Windows, you will be sure to come away from Phil's session with at least one new insight - and probably many more as well.

Register in advance for this meeting

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

DOOR PRIZES ARE BACK!
General meetings include a "drawing" for door prizes - just like the good old days! Members and visitors are eligible to win, but you must be present (virtually) at the end of the meeting when the drawing will take place. This month's prizes are a $15 Amazon gift card and a $15 Walmart gift card. Good luck everyone!

January 8 - Saturday - 1:00-3:00 PM
Digital Photography SIG - Leader: Phil Ball
Zoom meeting will open at 12:45 PM
Currently scheduled for Zoom only. Watch the schedule for notice of return to the library!

Professor Phil Ball will resume our ongoing education in all things Digital Photography. Phil regularly peppers his programs with an eclectic mix of digital photo examples, shooting suggestions and post-production demonstrations. If you have a digital camera, and who doesn't with a smartphone in their pocket, you will benefit from Phil's expertise.

Register in advance for this meeting

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

January 15 - Saturday - 1:00-3:00 PM
General meeting - Leader: JB Burke
Zoom meeting will open at 12:45 PM
Currently scheduled for Zoom only. Watch the schedule for notice of return to the library!

First Hour: Judy Taylour, SCV Computer Club - The Cloud is Here - Don't Get Left Behind
Are you using the Cloud? Many people still answer, no. We seem to need buzz words to define anything related to computers and this is one that seems to mystify people. You’ll be surprised when you find out how much we are all using the Cloud and how much more is out there that we can take advantage of. We no longer have just one computer, we have a smart phone, a tablet and probably a second computer. How can we keep our data files in sync on all of them? We want to be able to share files with family, friends, and associates, but emailing them is not very efficient. Is there a better way?

How can we use cloud storage services like Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, and others to make things easier?

Second Hour: Tips & Tricks - Phil Ball
Today's program will be followed by Windows Master Phil Ball with another helping of his famous Windows 10 Tips & Tricks. No matter how well you know Windows, you will be sure to come away from Phil's session with at least one new insight - and probably many more as well.

Register in advance for this meeting

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

DOOR PRIZES ARE BACK!
General meetings include a "drawing" for door prizes - just like the good old days! Members and visitors are eligible to win, but you must be present (virtually) at the end of the meeting when the drawing will take place. This month's prizes are a $15 Amazon gift card and a $15 Walmart gift card. Good luck everyone!

January 22 - Saturday - 1:00-3:00 PM
Special Topics - Leader: JB Burke
Zoom meeting will open at 12:45 PM
Currently scheduled for Zoom only. Watch the schedule for notice of return to the library!

JB will serve up another carefully researched and finely tuned program of Special Topics. You will learn many useful, interesting, unusual, educational, humorous, and ancient chunks of knowledge that you just never thought of. Now you don't have to, because JB has thunk them for you.

Register in advance for this meeting

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

February 1 - Tuesday - 5:00-6:00 PM
PCS Board of Directors Meeting - Leader: JB Burke
Zoom meeting will open at 4:45 PM
Currently scheduled for Zoom only. Watch the schedule for notice of return to the library!

The board will discuss issues related to the operation of the PCS.

Register in advance for this meeting

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

February 12 - Saturday - 1:00-3:00 PM
Digital Photography SIG - Leader: Phil Ball
Zoom meeting will open at 12:45 PM
Currently scheduled for Zoom only. Watch the schedule for notice of return to the library!

Professor Phil Ball will resume our ongoing education in all things Digital Photography. Phil regularly peppers his programs with an eclectic mix of digital photo examples, shooting suggestions and post-production demonstrations. If you have a digital camera, and who doesn't with a smartphone in their pocket, you will benefit from Phil's expertise.

Register in advance for this meeting

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

February 19 - Saturday - 1:00-3:00 PM
General meeting - Leader: JB Burke
Zoom meeting will open at 12:45 PM
Currently scheduled for Zoom only. Watch the schedule for notice of return to the library!

First Hour - Bill James, Computer Club of Oklahoma City- Everything Google
This presentation will explore the vast world of Google both hardware and software. Google is unique in that it strives to have the most comprehensive and diverse suite of apps and hardware that work together. They also appear to want to be the most platform-independent for their group of products that work across a wide variety of operating systems. The core of Google Apps is the Chrome browser and is the foundation of their platform. Foremost, all its software development is web-based; they produce no software that resides on your computer. Each app is designed to work seamlessly with each other. We are all familiar with Google Chrome as a browser, but it is also the basis for Google's Chromebook Operating System. Each product or app builds upon the other to make a cohesive system. We will look at Google hardware and some of the more popular apps as some of the more obscure and how they interact with each other to make a comprehensive ecosystem.

Second Hour: Tips & Tricks - Phil Ball
Today’s program will be followed by Windows Master Phil Ball with another helping of his famous Windows 10 Tips & Tricks. No matter how well you know Windows, you will be sure to come away from Phil's session with at least one new insight - and probably many more as well.

Register in advance for this meeting

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

DOOR PRIZES ARE BACK!
General meetings include a "drawing" for door prizes - just like the good old days! Members and visitors are eligible to win, but you must be present (virtually) at the end of the meeting when the drawing will take place. This month's prizes are a $15 Amazon gift card and a $15 Walmart gift card. Good luck everyone!

March 5 - Saturday - 1:00-3:00 PM
Digital Photography SIG - Leader: Phil Ball
Zoom meeting will open at 12:45 PM
Currently scheduled for Zoom only. Watch the schedule for notice of return to the library!

Professor Phil Ball will resume our ongoing education in all things Digital Photography. Phil regularly peppers his programs with an eclectic mix of digital photo examples, shooting suggestions and post-production demonstrations. If you have a digital camera, and who doesn't with a smartphone in their pocket, you will benefit from Phil's expertise.

Register in advance for this meeting

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

March 12 - Saturday - 1:00-3:00 PM
General meeting - Leader: JB Burke
Zoom meeting will open at 12:45 PM
Currently scheduled for Zoom only. Watch the schedule for notice of return to the library!

First Hour - Ray Baxter, APCUG President & Treasurer; President, Payson Computer Meet-Up Club

How Technology Has Changed the Way We Listen to Music & Music in the Car
This is a two-part presentation: a quick review of our music listening habits during the last 65 years and a look at today's download and streaming offerings. From 78s to 45s, LPs, the 8-track tape, cassettes, the Walkman, Compact Discs, iPods and more - Ray will cover it all.

How Technology Has Changed the Way We Listen to Music
Ray considers himself an early Rock and Roll historian and has a digital collection of over 45,000 songs that began when he first started collecting records (most of which he still has) in his pre-teenage years. When living in California, he was the President of the Doo-Wop Society of Southern California, a non-profit organization that for almost 14 years produced live quarterly musical stage shows featuring vocal groups of the 1950s.

Music in the Car
Remember when it was so "cool" to have a push-button AM radio in the car? This presentation will review how to utilize your existing Compact Disc collection, now that many new cars no longer have a CD player, by streaming from an online service, using Bluetooth, flash drives, smartphones, etc.

Second Hour: Tips & Tricks - Phil Ball
Today's program will be followed by Windows Master Phil Ball with another helping of his famous Windows 10 Tips & Tricks. No matter how well you know Windows, you will be sure to come away from Phil's session with at least one new insight - and probably many more as well.

Register in advance for this meeting

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

DOOR PRIZES ARE BACK!
General meetings include a "drawing" for door prizes - just like the good old days! Members and visitors are eligible to win, but you must be present (virtually) at the end of the meeting when the drawing will take place. This month's prizes are a $15 Amazon gift card and a $15 Walmart gift card. Good luck everyone!

March 19 - Saturday - 1:00-3:00 PM
Special Topics - Leader: JB Burke
Zoom meeting will open at 12:45 PM
Currently scheduled for Zoom only. Watch the schedule for notice of return to the library!

JB will serve up another carefully researched and finely tuned program of Special Topics. You will learn many useful, interesting, unusual, educational, humorous, and ancient chunks of knowledge that you just never thought of. Now you don't have to, because JB has thunk them for you.

Register in advance for this meeting

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Other Computer Groups Sharing Meetings

Through PCS' affiliation with APCUG (see below) you may also virtually attend other computer club meetings throughout the country. Check out the wide selection of programs available to you.

A typical PCS meeting scene.

General Information About PCS

The Prescott Computer Society (PCS) is a PC-based users group located in Prescott, Arizona. Our primary attention is focused on IBM-compatible computers, associated software and smart phones. We strive to provide personal, home office and small business computing solutions and presentation topics. You may obtain both basic and advanced information about computers by attending our club's meetings.

We hold several meetings each month to show you how to get the most out of your computer. These are our General meeting and several Special Interest Group meetings. Anyone with an interest in computers is welcome to attend our meetings and join PCS.

PCS is a member of the Association of Personal Computer User Groups (APCUG).

Fun Stuff

A typical "Stump The Geeks" Q&A session which is chaired by some of our favorite PCS members. It's always full of laughter and is enjoyed by all those who attend.

We often hold Question and Answer sessions at General meetings where our members attempt to "Stump The Geeks" with their questions about computer and smartphone problems and other related issues.

Do the geeks ever get stumped? Of course, once in a while they do but we all appreciate the very interesting and informative discussions that are held. I guess you'll just have to come to a meeting to see for yourself.