Digital Matters

No show for DM at “Meet the Groups”

This is just a short post to let you know that Digital Matters will not be present at “Meet the Groups” on October 14th. This is not because we can’t be bothered, it’s just because we have got a large membership already and don’t need to recruit new members! Happy days you might think!

We’re not closing our membership though and are not introducing a Waiting List – if you are interested in joining the Group just send the Convenor an email and we’ll invite you to a meeting. If you like what you see, I’m sure you’ll be able to become a member. We never have 100% attendance, and we’ve never turned anyone away 馃檪 馃檪

What we do offer to all Cardiff u3a members is access to our members-only website Thought Grazing – which holds posts of meetings and events as well as hosting Forums for a variety of digital issues, and the ability to join our Signal social-media groups – Artificial Intelligence, Easy PC, Apple Pie, Google Gossip, Network Issues and Scams, privacy and security – to name a few [Signal is like WhatsApp but with a greater focus on Privacy]. If you’re interested in subscribing to either of these two services that we offer, or both, just drop the Convenor an email and we’ll add you to the membership of these.

A “no show” does not mean we’re not interested, so I hope this post doesn’t read as though we’re trying to drive you away – far from it! We can take “virtual” and “in person” members all the time, not just at “Meet the Groups” day.

Membership

Practical Photography

Birds, Beasts and Barnes

We’re truly blessed to have an absolutely brilliant award winning Natural History photographer in the Practical Photography Group. Michel Barnes showed these photographs in his recent General Meeting talk, but the technology didn’t do them justice, so I persuaded him to let me publish them on the Group page.

You are encouraged to scroll through these images (using the arrow keys to go backwards and forwards, but please be aware they are all Copyright Protected, so please don’t try and download them.

Practical Photography

Photographers at work!

Michael gave a presentation to the General Meeting this week, and was unable (due to time issues caused by equipment difficulties) to show the first half of what he had prepared – a slideshow of some of the images taken by members of the two Photography groups, that had been exhibited at UHW Llandough last September.

Here’s an embedded PDF file of the presentation which I hope you’ll enjoy and appreciate some of the talent that’s present in the groups. Just click on the arrows to go backwards and forwards through the images, and read Michael’s commentary which he would have added if he’d been able to show them at the meeting.


Then if you want to see a version of the photographs without the comments; again click on the arrows to go backwards and forwards through the photographs …




Please remember these images belong to members of the two Photography groups and the Copyright belongs to them, so please don’t try and download any of them.

Digital Matters

How much privacy do I want/need?

An AI generated image from ChatGPT using DALL-E depicting Digital Privacy
Which side are you on? Which side do you want to be on?

What a question! Total of course might be the first answer, but is it actually the right one. It’s an entirely personal choice, and you have to weigh up how much you want to share of yourself online, how much personal information you need to share online, and how to secure that which you have to provide online to obtain services. Yes – it’s not an easy question to answer! But first some highlights …

UK Government forces Apple to remove Advanced Data Protection for its users in UK

New rules to protect your rights and activity online in the EU

… and the UK’s GDPR post-Brexit

What goes on in the US Defense establishment?

Even IT experts can be duped!

Challenges for genealogy site

UK High Court forces Meta to consider a subscription model

Do you really need to do this to enter the US now?

The US CISA is seriously worried about protecting itself and its workers

How to avoid US-Based Digital Services鈥攁nd Why You Might Want To

… and of course I couldn’t resist sharing this …

https://www.cultofmac.com/news/privacy-in-apps

If you want to learn more on how to enhance your digital privacy, please go to Thought grazing, where – with a recent change in access rights – you will be able to read and view some of the presentations given to the Digital Matters group and Blogposts that we hope you might find interesting.