News and Notices

Solid State Drive Installation
If your PC has a slooow hard disk drive have we an offer for you!
George Barna is willing to replace a laptop hard disk drive with a Solid State Drive (SSD) and transfer all your data for $45 plus the cost of the SSD. It will cost slightly more for the same 'surgery' on a Desktop PC as George will need to visit your home. All proceeds will go to Wellington SeniorNet. 

SSDs are considerably faster than a hard drive, very reliable and have come down significantly in price. However, simply replacing your hard disk drive with a SSD will not fix any operational problems you are currently having. The content of the new drive will be identical to your current drive, including any problems with software, viruses etc. 

If you are interested contact George at  georgebarna0@gmail.com  to find out what is involved.​ Please put SSDInstallation in the subject line when emailing George.
New 'Links' Page
We have a new button at the top of the page. Clicking on LINKS takes you to links to other web sites which we hope will be of interest to members. Currently these are the Super Gold Card, Age Concern, Office for Seniors and Power Switch but others will be added over time.
All courses, workshops and tutorials are for financial members only. To become a member, please see our joining page.

Courses and Workshops

Smartphone Drivers License – Session 1 - Basics
When: Thursday 7 November, 10.00am – 12.00pm
Where: Anvil House, Level 1 Room 11
Facilitator: Allan Chee +  experienced helpers
Register: Registration required as numbers are limited to 7.  Please click Seniornet Registration. 
If registration numbers are exceeded, you will be put on a wait list and advised when the next class will be scheduled.
Cost: $10 - payable on the day
Click for details  (Smartphone Drivers Licence - the Basics)
This course is the first in a series of hands-on sessions intended to provide Smartphone users with the skills to be effective and competent users of their Smartphones.
 
At the end of the series, the Smartphone user will have gained a Smartphone “Driver’s License”.
This workshop will cover:
  • Common types of Smartphones
  • Types of Smartphone and the different operating systems ( Android and Apple iOS devices)
  • Hardware parts and names,
  • All those buttons: power on and off, sleep/wake, home, volume and slide switch function
  • Status Icons,
  • Smartphone setup,
  • Connecting to Wi-Fi
  • Apple and Android ID’s
  • Your Smartphone name
  • Intro to Settings
  • Screen capture
  • Getting important information about your smartphone
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Computer Owners Group (COG) 
When:  Wednesday 12 February, 10:00am – 12:00pm
Where:  Anvil House, Level 1 Room 2
Facilitator:  Michael Munro
​Register:  Pre-registration is not required.  
Cost:  This meeting is free for SeniorNet members
Click for details (Computer Owners Group)
This group is for computer users at all levels of experience. Come along and contribute, enjoy yourself and learn something new.

The format is primarily a question and answer session, where we can all help each other to solve problems, simple or complex. New members will find this very helpful, as we also show you how to go about solving issues that we may not be able to fix at the session.
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Smartphone Drivers License – Session 2 - Phone, Contacts, Texting and Email
When:  Thursday 14 November, 10:00am – 12:00pm
Where:  Anvil House, Level 1 Room 11
Presenter:  Allan Chee + experienced helpers
Register:  Registration required as numbers are limited to 7. Click Seniornet Registration. 
If registration numbers are exceeded, you will be put on a wait list and advised when the next class will be scheduled.
Cost: $10 - payable on the day
Click for details  (Smartphone Drivers Licence - Phone, Contacts, Texting and Email)
This course is one of a series of hands-on sessions intended to provide the skills needed for effective and competent use of a Smartphone.  At the end of the series, the Smartphone user will have gained a Smartphone “Drivers License”. 

This unit will cover the following features of your Smartphone 
The Phone App
  • Ways of making and answering calls, how to answer a second call
  • Using favourites
  • Most recent calls
The Contacts App
  • Management of your Contacts, add or delete Contacts
  • Set up Groups
The Message App
  • Types of messages, SMS, MMS
  • Sending and Receiving text messages
The Mail App
  • Setting up your email account, Sending, Receiving, Forwarding emails
  • Adding a second email account
  • Attaching photos or other media to emails 
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Digicam Group
When:  Thursday 14 November, 10:00am – 12:00pm
Where:  Anvil House, Level 1 Room 2
Facilitator:  Ray Heenan and Bryan Carver
​Register:  Pre-registration is not required.  
Cost:  This meeting is free for SeniorNet members
Click for details  (Digital Camera SIG)
This group is all about learning and sharing information relevant to the digital camera world, including smartphone cameras. Each month there is a special topic of interest to members. 
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Apple MAC Users Group
When: Monday 18 November, 10:00am – 12:00pm
Where:  Anvil House, Level 1,  Room 2
​Facilitator: Keith Smith
​Register:  Pre-registration is not required.  
Cost: This meeting is free for SeniorNet members
Click for details (Apple MAC Users Group)
​This user group is suitable for all experience levels including those who are new to MAC.

Are you new to Mac? Thinking of purchasing an Apple Mac?  Come along to observe or ask questions.

Each month we will be looking at a special topic, followed by a Q&A session where you can share your knowledge and experiences with or learn from other Apple Mac Computer users.
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Smartphone Drivers License – Session 3 - Whatsapp and Google Photos
When:  Thursday 21 November, 10.00am – 12.00pm
Where:  Anvil House, Level 1 Room 11
Presenter:  Allan Chee+ experienced helpers
Register:  Registration required as numbers are limited to 7.  Click Seniornet Registration. 
If registration numbers are exceeded, you will be put on a wait list and advised when the next class will be scheduled.
Cost:  $10 - payable on the day
Click for details  (Smartphone Drivers Licence - Whatsapp and Google Photos)
This course is one of a series of hands-on sessions intended to provide the skills needed for effective and competent use of a Smartphone.  At the end of the series, the Smartphone user will have gained a Smartphone “Drivers License”  
​
This session covers Whatsapp and Google Photos - two of the most popular apps used in Android and IOS Smartphones today.
​
Whatsapp is widely used for instant communications, one to one or in groups. It is easy to set up for sending photos (up to 30 can be attached in one message), videos, PDF documents and internet links as well as location sharing. In addition it can used for voice communication and video face to face chats. Whatsapp is typically used to interact in family groups, dinner outings and many social groups.  All that is required is a smartphone with a mobile number and use of wifi. 

Google Photos provides free unlimited cloud storage for users to back up their photos. The app has built in artificial intelligence to recognise faces, objects, documents and places. Users can also retrospectively insert geographic location on old photos with the assistance of other supporting apps. For users who take a lot of photos or have a huge stash of family photos to backup google photos is another must-have app.  
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Android Smartphone and Tablet Users Group
When:  Tuesday 26 November,  10:00am – 12:00pm
Where:  Anvil House, Level 1 Room 2
​Facilitator:  Graeme Munro
​Register:  Pre-registration is not required.  
Cost:  This meeting is free for SeniorNet members
Click for details (Android Smartphones and tablets Users Group)
If you want to get the most out of your Android device, come to this user group.

​These sessions are specifically designed to help the beginner and new members are particularly welcome. Come along and ask your questions or maybe provide the answer to someone else’s question. One-on-one help may be available if time allows.

​
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Simplifying Travel with Smart Devices
When: Wednesday 27 November, 10:00am - 12:00pm
Where:  Anvil House, Level 1, Room 2
Presenter: Antony Zogg from Noel Leeming
Register:  Registration required. Click Seniornet Registration. ​
Cost: $5- payable on the day, correct change appreciated
Click for details  (Simplifying travel with smart devices)
Details to be confirmed.
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Smartphone Drivers License – Session 4 - Internet and Basic Settings
When:  Thursday 28 November, 10:00am - 12:00pm
Where:  Anvil House, Level 1 Room 11
Presenter:  Allan Chee + experienced helpers
​​Register:  Registration required as numbers are limited to 7. Click Seniornet Registration. 
If registration numbers are exceeded, you will be put on a wait list and advised when the next class will be scheduled.
Cost: $10, payable at the first session.  
Click for details  (Smartphone Drivers Licence -Internet and Basic Settings)
This Workshop is one of a series of hands-on sessions intended to provide the skills needed for effective and competent use of a Smartphone.  At the end of the series, the Smartphone user will have gained a Smartphone “Drivers License”.

​This unit will cover the following features of your Smartphone –
The Internet  App – Accessing  and Searching the Internet
  1. What is the Internet
  2. What is the Web
  3. What is a Browser
  4. What is a Search Engine
  5. The Parts of a Browser
  6. The Web Address and its Anatomy
  7. Common types of Domain
  8. HTTP and HTTPS
 
Intro to the Settings App – Management of your Smartphone Settings.
  1. Locate the Settings Icon and tap to open it
  2. The Connections Settings
  3. The Device Settings
  4. The General Settings
  5. Controls Settings  
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Questions and Answers (Q&A) Group
When:  Thursday 28 November, 10:00am – 12:00pm
Where:  Anvil House, Level 1 Room 2
Facilitator:  Alan Royal
​Register:  Pre-registration is not required.  
Cost:  This meeting is free for SeniorNet members
Click for details (Questions and Answers Group)
The format will be a quick run down on present and future technology developments of interest to Senior​Net members followed by a question and answer session, where we can all help each other to solve​ problems, simple or complex.

New members will find this very helpful, as we ​also show you how to go about solving issues that we may not be able to fix​ ​at the session.

​The group welcomes new and experienced computer users. Come along and contribute, enjoy yourself and learn something new.
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IOS Users Group
When: Friday 6 December, 10:00am – 12:00pm
Where:  Anvil House, Level 1,  Room 2
​Facilitator: Allan Chee
​Register:  Pre-registration is not required.  
Cost: This meeting is free for SeniorNet members
Click for details (IOS Users Group)
​​IOS is the operating system on Apple portable devices.

​Are you having problems with your iPhone, iPad or iPod device or just interested in learning more about it? If so, you are welcome to come along & ask questions. Don't be shy.

These sessions are specifically designed to help the beginner. Come and ask your questions so that we can help you get the most out of your Apple phone or tablet. Even if you don’t have any questions yourself, still please come along as you may have the answer to someone else’s question. 
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The Help Centre (every Monday except public holidays)

When: Monday, 10:00am - 12:00pm or 12:30pm - 2:30pm
Where: Anvil House, Level 1 Room 11 and 12
Coordinator: Sandra Thorn 
Register:  As these are popular sessions you must register with Sandra by phone at 232 4173 or email at saonbeauchamp@gmail.com to ensure a tutor is available to assist you. 
Cost: $10 for up to 1 hour and $15 for up to 2 hours.
Click for details (The Help Centre)
​The Help Centre tutors can assist members who are new to computers or wish to improve their skills or are having problems with their portable device.

We offer one-to-one assistance in a cheerful, friendly environment and while we don’t have all the answers we can usually point you in the right direction.

We can help with a number of computing devices such as smartphones, laptops, tablets, Apple Macs, iPads. You can use the computers at SeniorNet or bring your own.
​
If you bring your own device please make sure the battery is fully charged or bring the power cord. It is very important that you bring all the passwords for your device.   ​