john r. patrick: how attitude opens the way to the future of … · 2018. 5. 1. · danbury area...

May 2018 Volume 29, Issue 5 $2.00

Next Meeting: May 1, 6:30 PM

John R. Patrick: How Attitude Opensthe Way to the Future of Technology

2 • May 2018 http://www.dacs.org

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Editorial CommitteeEditorial CommitteeEditorial CommitteeEditorial CommitteeEditorial CommitteeManaging Editor: Richard TeasdaleProduction Editor: Allan Ostergren

Dick Gingras APCUG [email protected]

CopyrightCopyrightCopyrightCopyrightCopyright

ContributorsContributorsContributorsContributorsContributorsCharles Bovaird Richard CorzoDrew Kwashnak Lisa LeifelsDave Mawdsley Bruce PrestonJim Scheef Annette van Ommeren Andy Woodruff

IN THIS ISSUEIN THIS ISSUEDIRECTORS’ NOTES 2

HELPLINE 3

BUCKY MILAM CARTOON 4

REVIEW: CRYPTOCURRENCY & BLOCKCHAIN 4

PREVIEW: JOHN PATRICK ON HOW ATTITUDE

COULD CHANGE THE FUTURE 5

NOTES ON THE DACS TRANSITION 7

WORKSHOP NOTES 7

MAY CALENDAR 7

SECURING ANDROID 8

MUSESCORE COMPOSITION FREEWARE 10

FUTURE EVENTS 12

President’s File

HERE WE ARE in month two of theDACS transition. This may seem like

a sudden change, but the board has beenworking on this for wellover a year. Please don'tlook on this as the endof DACS. On the DACSside, we are shedding aheavy organizationalstructure to becomemore manageable. Thecorporate structure was

needed when we had hundreds of mem-bers. Now, our goal is to transition intoa more flexible group as part of theDanbury Hackerspace.

Early in our planning, the board real-ized that we would need to refund un-used dues. DACS is not a seasonal or-ganization and people can join at anytime of the year, so no matter when wepick, various members will be at differ-ent points in their "membership year".Once we reached an agreement with theHackerspace, we stopped acceptingdues payments, in January of this year,and picked March 31st as the last dateof membership in DACS. Refunds willbegin next week and will be completedby the end of May. Even with less than ahundred members, it takes time to writethe checks and address envelopes.Hopefully those who paid using PayPalwill be able to receive their refunds thesame way, either into your PayPal ac-count or as a credit to your credit card.We're working out the details.

Meanwhile we continue to plan ourmonthly meetings at Danbury Hospital.John Patrick returns this month; don't

—Jim Scheef, President

Directors’ Notes

Danbury Area ComputerDanbury Area ComputerDanbury Area ComputerDanbury Area ComputerDanbury Area ComputerSociety (DACS)Society (DACS)Society (DACS)Society (DACS)Society (DACS)

Board Meeting MinutesBoard Meeting MinutesBoard Meeting MinutesBoard Meeting MinutesBoard Meeting MinutesWednesday, April 4, 2018Wednesday, April 4, 2018Wednesday, April 4, 2018Wednesday, April 4, 2018Wednesday, April 4, 2018

The meeting was called to order at 7:07pmby the DACS President, Jim Scheef

In attendance were Board membersRichard Corzo, Dick Gingras, Bert Goff,David Green, and Jim Scheef (President).Andy Woodruff was not present. Alsopresent was Dave Mawdsley. The minuteswere taken by Richard Teasdale.

(Names in italics denote responsibili-ties for actions.)

• The Minutes of the 3/13/2018 BoardMeeting were accepted.

Reports• Treasurer's Report:

o The March Treasurer's report was notcomplete at the time of the meeting. Bertindicated that it would be ready by earlynext week. The major expenses during themonth were fees for renewal of web host-ing and the SSL certificate. Repaymentsof unused members' dues will begin dur-ing the second half of April. To assist withthis, Jim will provide an export of mem-ber expiration dates from CiviCRM.

• The Membership Report was providedby Jim.o 69 paid-up members and 20 in-grace,for a total of 89. An estimated 40 peopleattended the April general meeting.o The lack of a need for continued regis-tration at general meetings was discussed.It was agreed that, with the exception oftaking headcounts, registrations should bediscontinued.o It was agreed that the weekly e-mailshould include a link to Meetup butshould not refer to the newsletter.

• Press Coverage Report:o David reported that the Press Release forthe April general meeting went out as usual.o The composition and timing of pressreleases were discussed. Dick agreed toassist Dave with composition. o Dick recommended that the "mass mail-ing" appearance of the page footers oncover letters that go to press releaserecipients be changed.

• Webmaster's Report:o Richard reported that the Join/Renewpage on the website has been replaced with

http://www.dacs.org May 2018 • 3

PRESIDENT: Jim Scheef [email protected]

VICE PRESIDENT PROGRAMS: [email protected]

SECRETARY: Bert Goff • TREASURER: Bert Goff

Officers

HelpLineHelpLineHelpLineHelpLineHelpLine

[email protected]

Richard Corzo (203) 797-1518 [email protected]

Richard Gingras (203) 426-1780 [email protected]

Bert Goff (860) 355-8895 [email protected]

David Green (203) 797-8682 [email protected]

Jim Scheef (860) 355-0034 [email protected]

Andy Woodruff (203) 744-9588 [email protected]

CommitteesNEWSLETTER: Richard Teasdale: [email protected],

PROGRAM: [email protected]

WEB MASTERS: Richard Corzo ([email protected]), (203) 797-1518

Annette van Ommeren ([email protected]), (914) 232-0149

PRESS RELEASES: Dave Green ([email protected])

APCUG LIAISON: Dick Gingras ([email protected])

MEMBERSHIP COORDINATOR: Jim Scheef ([email protected])

RESOURCE CENTER: (203) 748-4330 • WEB SITE: http://www.dacs.org

Our former telephone HelpLine has been replaced by our web-based DACS Com-munity Forum at http://forum.dacs.org. We have topic-specific forums where DACSmembers can post questions. Questions may be answered by Workshop leaders orother DACS members. If none of the categories fit your question, just post it to theAsk DACS forum.

Topic Forum

Linux Linux Workshop

Desktop publishing and website design Web Site Design Workshop

Mac and iPhone/iPad/iPod touch Apple Workshop

Online/small business Online Business

Single board computers Single Board Computers

Smartphones & Tablets Mobile Devices Workshop

Social media Social Media

Video capture/processing Video

Windows Windows Workshop

a link to the Meetup page. Also, all news-letter pdf's stored on the site are now im-mediately accessible; the 3-month wait-ing time has been eliminated.

Old Business• Programs:

o April: The timing of the break was dis-cussed and it was agreed that a break sometime during the presentation, rather thanat the end, is best.o May: John Patrick will speak about HomeAutomation. Dick will add missing con-tacts to CiviCRM in order to maximizepress coverage of the event. Bert reportedthat this year, John will donate only a lim-ited number of free copies of his book onthe meeting topic. The Board agreed to raffleoff at least some of the books at the meet-ing; Dave will issue tickets at the door.

• Preview: Bert.• Review: Andy.• Bert will provide snacks, and Richard T

will provide beverages.o June: Brian Jackson will speak on thesubject of Net Neutrality.

• Dave reported that he has spoken to theHospital administrators and we areapproved to use the Robilotti room.

• Preview: Richard.• Review: Jim.

o July: The concept of an intelligent as-sistants shoot-out or "shout down" wasdiscussed. 3 assistants would be targetedfor the competition: Alexa, Siri, and theGoogle Assistant. Since people familiarwith each one would need to participate,Jim will send invitations to the DACSmembership list, and ask Mike Kaltschneeto do similar at the Hackerspace.

• Cleanup of the Resource Center (RC):o Ideas for disposal of various DACScomputing assets were discussed.o Jim will check with Mike Kaltschneewhether there is an interest in continuingto use the RC.

New Business• Dissolution of the DACS Corporation:

o Jim intends to contact the CT Secretaryof State for guidance about dissolving thecorporation.o A plan for shutdown of CiviCRM isneeded.o Jim has removed some of the DACSforwarding e-mail addresses; others remainto be removed.

o Richard will remove the Google Voicephone number from the website. RichardT will contact Allan Ostergren to removeit from the newsletter.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:52 pm.

—Richard Teasdale


Cryptocurrency & BlockchainBy Richard Corzo

April Meeting Review

ON SOMEWHAT SHORT NOTICElongtime DACS friend and multiplepast presenter Mike Kaltschnee

gave us an informative presentation on acurrent topic of keen interest, cryptocurrencyand the blockchain technology on which it'sbased. Mike is co-director of DanburyHackerspace. We've been hearing about themoney people have made (and lost) by in-vesting in cryptocurrencies, so it was timelyand welcome to hear what this technologywas all about.

Bitcoin is probably the most well-known cryptocurrency. It was developedto be a decentralized cash payment systemthat was not controlled by a governmentor other central authority. Although in thepast a currency might have been backedby gold, government-issued currencies canbe manipulated by their governments topursue their economic goals. Bitcoin andother digital cryptocurrencies are "mined"by solving complex algorithms whichrequire huge amounts of computing power,thereby limiting the quantity ofcryptocurrency created.

Mike showed a chart of Bitcoin's valuesince 2012 starting at a value of a fewhundred dollars, peaking at above $19,000last year and dropping back down toaround $8000 at the time of the presenta-tion. Other cryptocurrencies of note areEtherium, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, andLitecoin. There are now futures and shortsfor those who want to bet oncryptocurrencies. Some early investors arenow billionaires, but the investment isincredibly risky.

There is a limit of 21 million bitcoins, with12 million currently in existence.Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin require special-ized hardware, mainly GPUs (GraphicsProcessing Units). You can buy the miningrigs on the internet. Mike tried to give us aflavor of the mining algorithm that solves amathematical puzzle to generate anotherbitcoin. It requires a massive amount of elec-tricity, so people have set up rigs in placeslike Washington State, where hydroelectricpower provides cheaper electricity.

Where can you spend bitcoin? Mostlysmall merchants, but some better knownlike Overstock, Expedia, and Newegg. Somewebsites and companies likeWordpress.com, Subway, Reddit, and evenMicrosoft take them. Exchanges likeCoinbase, Binance, Bitstamp, and Livecoin

are places where you can buycryptocurrencies, and there are sites that ratethe exchanges. You may also want tomaintain a digital wallet to store your Bitcoin.You have to make sure you don't lose yourPIN or password. The IRS considers virtualcurrency as property and is taxed accord-ingly. Your accountant can advise you.

Blockchains are what underliecryptocurrencies. A blockchain is a digitalledger of records arranged in blocks. Theblocks are linked together cryptographicallyusing a hashing function, forming anunbroken chain. The blockchain is adecentralized data structure, accessible byeveryone, but immutable by any one party.Blockchain can be used for trackingcryptocurrencies, encrypted messaging,proof of ownership including real estate, and

authenticated voting. Mike showed anice chart from a website that did a great jobof explaining how blockchain works.Blockchain relies on three key components:private key cryptography (to verify identity),a distributed network with a shared ledger(to prevent fraud), and an incentive toservice the network's transactions, record-keeping, and security (mining to createcoins).

What are the risks of blockchain? Itinvolves a large amount of data that cantake hours or days to update. There has tobe continued interest in maintaining theblockchain. It may be subject to hacking,fraud, and endpoint vulnerabilities. Itdepends on the security of the keys, andnot losing PINs. There are also risks in-volved with the vendors and applicationsinvolved in handling the blockchain orcryptocurrency

The original paper on Bitcoin fromSatoshi Nakamoto is at https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf. Needless to say, Mike's talkgenerated lots of audience questions to-ward the end.


May Meeting Preview

Date: May 1, 2018, 6:30 p.m. Danbury Hospital Auditorium Presenter: John R. PatrickNote:This event is scheduled at 6:30 PM- an hour earlier than usual.

It's All About Attitude - How It CouldChange the Future, by John R. Patrick

by Bert Goff

DACS IS VERY PLEASED to haveJohn R. Patrick return for anotherof his future focused presenta-

tions. This time he will share his recentresearch and his crystal ball looking aheadwhile weaving a theme through his bookscovering Net Attitude, Health Attitude,Election Attitude, and his newest, HomeAttitude, plus a hint at upcoming RobotAttitude. Please bring your questions onthese areas, more details below. John looksforward to responding to questions and alively discussion with attendees. Pleasenote that the meeting will begin at 6:30PM, an hour earlier than usual.

John Patrick believes many opportu-nities and problems have their roots inattitude. He also believes the solutionsand ways forward are based on attitude.In his revealing talk, John will offer apositive perspective on how an attitudechange can reap major improvements.These concepts will be emphasized us-ing illustrations from his recent books:

• We have had the Internet available to us fordecades, yet many websites frustrate us andfall short of meeting our rising expectations.Reason: lack of a net attitude. Some websitesoffer a couple of clicks experience, and atothers we click and nothing happens. Witha strong attitude, much more is possible,including Internet voting, improvedhealthcare, homes which mirror our lifestyle,and websites which make our lives simpler.

• Our healthcare system is not affordable,and in a global comparison, is not as safeas it could be. John describes how attitudechanges by patients, providers, payers, andpolicymakers can result in a healthcaresystem which is safe and affordable. Thesavings from the attitude changes couldeasily make it possible to have healthcarefor all Americans.

• In each of the elections of 2012 and 2016,100 million people who were eligible tovote did not. In most cases, the attitudeproblem was not with the potential voters,but with technologists and election officialswho resist change to our 150-year-oldvoting system. Technology exists to makeit easy to vote, and the increased participa-tion can strengthen our democracy.

• Although building materials have changedsomewhat over the years, most houses,apartments, and condos work the sameway they did decades ago. We flip a switch,turn a door lock knob, or turn the dial on athermostat. Technology is now available

Reminder:this specialevent startsat 6:30 PM -

an hourearlier than

usual!Come ahead

for bestseating

to automate many things in our homes.By applying a home attitude, it is pos-sible to have a smart home which hasenhanced security, reduced energy use,and many conveniences.

John R. Patrick is president of AttitudeLLC and former Vice President of InternetTechnology at IBM. John has degrees inelectrical engineering, management, law,and health administration.


Workshops

WWWWWorororororkshop Notes:kshop Notes:kshop Notes:kshop Notes:kshop Notes: Ma Ma Ma Ma May 2018y 2018y 2018y 2018y 2018

Apple. Focuses on all aspects of the Mac and iPhoneoperating systems.Contact: Richard Corzo ([email protected]). Meets 2nd Tuesday, 7 p.m. at DACS Resource Center. Next Meeting: Check dacs.org. Workshop Suspended

Jobs. Networking and jobs search

Contact: Charles Bovaird, 203-792-7881 ([email protected]). Go to DACS Community Forum (http://forum.dacs.org) for job listings.

Linux. Helps in installing and maintaining the Linuxoperating system. Also of interest to Apple ownersusing OS X.Contact: Dave Mawdsley, [email protected]

Meets 3rd Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. at the DACSResource Center.Next Meeting: May 16.

PC Maintenance. Review of PC hardware and OpSysmaintenance and use.Contact: Charles Bovaird, 203-792-7881 ([email protected]).Go to DACS Community Forum (http://forum.dacs.org).

Online Business Workshop. Informal member gatheringsharing ideas on creating an online source of income.Contact: Steve Harkness ([email protected])

Meets second Monday in Brookfield, or by Webinar.Next Meeting: Check dacs.org.

Single Board Computers Workshop. Explores small cheapcomputers like Raspberry Pi, Arduino, Netduino,Beaglebone, and more. Meets at 7:00 p.m on the 3rd

Thursday at the DACS Resource Center.Contact: Jim Scheef (860-355-0034)Next Meeting:

Video Workshop. Explores all aspects of video capture andproduction, including both inexpensive and professionalchoices for cameras and editing software.

Meets 3rd Thursday of certain months, typically at 7:00 pmat the Resource Center. Check the Calendar for details.Contact: Andy Woodruff ([email protected])Next meeting: Check dacs.org

Web Development/Design Web Development/Design Thisworkshop is looking for a new moderator. Being a work-shop leader is a great way to share information, learn newtechniques, promote your business, and interact with like-minded people. Extensive web knowledge is not required,but a willingness to open a topic for discussion and enjoythe contributions and feedback from the attendees. Meetsevery 3rd Tuesday of the month, but repeating date can bechanged if needed. Workshop Suspended

It's great to be working with Jim Scheef to transition DACSfrom a non-profit to a Meetup. Jim deserves a lot of credit fortaking the transitional President job: be sure to thank him whenyou see him, along with the rest of the board for their service!

I was around for the early days of computer groups in the80's, and one of the greatest things about the meetings were thepeople I met, the connections I made. We want to continue thiswith a networking part of each meeting, where people can meet,learn, and share with others.

Another great part of user groups was the Special InterestGroups, or SIGs. We will continue the main DACS meetings atthe Danbury Hospital, and also the remaining Special InterestGroups at the Danbury Hackerspace. We host a number ofawesome Meetups at the Hackerspace, which are similar to SIGs,and many of them are free and open to the public.

Danbury.IO - Software developer and web developer meetupthat covers a variety of topics (www.Danbury.IO).

Danbury AI Group - Monthly meetings on the topic of Arti-ficial Intelligence (www.Meetup.com/DanburyAI).

Danbury Engineers of Robotic Platforms - A group of peoplediscussing and building robots (www.Meetup.com/Danbury-Engineers-of-Robotic-Platforms).

Danbury Inventor's Group - The old group is being broughtback with monthly meetings on inventing, prototyping, and in-tellectual property (www.Meetup.com/Danbury-Innovators-Group).

Tech and Manufacturing Entrepreneur Meetup - A privatemeetup for entrepreneurs starting, building, and running com-panies.

We also run events like the Danbury STEAM Fair that getsthousands of attendees, with classes on topics like 3D Design &Printing, Intellectual Property, Starting a Business,Crowdfunding, and more. You can see the schedule of eventsonline at www.DanburyHackerspace.com/Calendar.

We're also looking for ideas for the future of DACS, meetingtopics, speaker suggestions, and more. Feel free to reach out tome by email: [email protected].

I look forward to seeing you at the next DACS meeting!

Notes on the DACS Transition to a MeetupBy Mike Kaltschnee

Co-founder Danbury Hackerspace


May 2018Danbury Area Computer Society

Single BoardComputers Workshop

7:00 PMJim Scheef

860-355-0034

DanburyHackerspaceOpen House

7:00 PM


7:00 PM


7:00 PM

MembershipCommittee

7:00 PMJim Scheef

860-355-0034


7:00 PM

Board of Directors7:00 PM

General Meeting6:30 PM

AI Developer MeetupHackerspace

7-9 PM

Linux7:30 PM

Dave [email protected]

VintageCpmputerFestival

East APCUGVintage

ComputerFestival

East

AI Developer MeetupHackerspace

7-9 PM


7:00 PM


7:00 PM


Securing AndroidBy Dick Maybach

YOUR PC REMAINS at homebehind locked doors, accesses theInternet through a firewall, and has

its software updated regularly, but none ofthis is true of your Android device. If youhaven't thought about its security, you areoverdue to begin. We obtain PC softwareupdates directly from the software ven-dors, e.g. Microsoft issues these for Win-dows. Google releases monthly securityupdates for Android, but the only end us-ers that get them are owners of GoogleNexus and Pixel devices. All others receivethem through their device vendors and usu-ally get them much later, if at all. To see thedate of your last security update, go to Set-tings, then About phone (probably the lastitem). Figure 1 shows the lower part of theresulting screen. (This is for a MotorolaG4 using Android 7; screens on other con-figurations may differ.)

This shot was taken in November andshows that the latest security update hadbeen made in June, which was not reassur-ing (although I did receive the Septemberupdate later in November). Many securityprofessionals believe that keeping software

Figure 1. About Phone Screen Figure 2. Settings/Security ScreenFigure 3. Web Login Page withKeePass2Android Running

up to date is the most important securitymeasure, more so than using anti-malwaresoftware.

That your Android phone is subject todamage and loss, probably runs on soft-ware with known vulnerabilities, and lacksprotection from Internet aggressors arebeyond your control, but there are thingsyou can do to reduce your risk.

Be sure your phone is protected bygoing to Settings then Security and en-abling screen lock; a password here is moresecure but less convenient than a PIN.Don't use None or Swipe, as these makeyour device fully accessible to anyone whopicks it up. I don't care for the Smart Lockfeatures as they unlock your phone for ex-tended periods. Making passwords visibleisn't as dangerous as it sounds, as it dis-plays the only last character you enter andonly for only a short time. I find it greatlyreduces errors when entering passwords. Ihaven't encrypted my entire device becauseall my sensitive data is encrypted sepa-rately. Figure 2 shows the upper portion ofthe security screen.

Sanitize your browser favorites, espe-

cially if you sync them with your PC overthe Internet. Review all your favorites.(With Firefox, open the menu, select Pref-erences, then Security, and finally SavedLogins…; for other browsers check theInternet.) Delete any, such as banks, thatare sensitive, and the next time you log intoone with a password, your browser willoffer to save it. Select "Never for this site,"or the equivalent.

Use a password manager that storesits data in an encrypted database anduse a non-trivial password for it. I likeKeepass2Android Password Safe byCroco Apps, as it uses the same data-base as KeePass, KeePassX, andKeePassXC, which are available forLinux, OS X, and Windows. You cantransfer the database file among all yourdevices. Because it's encrypted, youcould sync it using a cloud service, butI prefer not to so expose it. Keep all yoursensitive information here, passwords,PINs, account numbers, passport num-bers, etc. Figure 3 shows Firefox on asite's login page with KeePass2Androidactive.

To get to Figure 3, I opened KeePass2and selected the Adafruit entry. Then whenI launched Firefox and opened the Adafruitlocation, it displayed a keyboard icon inthe bottom menu bar. I selected this andthen selected the KeePass keyboard, whichadded a second lower-menu bar. Nowplacing the cursor in the Username boxand tapping the User button (in the sec-ond lower-menu bar) causes KeePass to

Mobile Security


Figure 4. Orbot Opening Screen.

Figure 5. Google PlayProtect Screen.

enter the name in that box. Then plac-ing the cursor in the password box andtapping the Password button does thesame for the password. (Of course, I hadpreviously entered the Adafruit infor-mation, its URL, my username, and my

password, in KeePass.) All this takeslonger to describe than to do.

Be careful when using public wi-fi, aswith readily-available software anyone onthe same network can view every packetyou send and receive. Fortunately, Tor isavailable for Android, and you should useit whenever you access the Internet usinga public wi-fi hot spot. Install the app "Orbot:Proxy with Tor" from Everyone, which willask that you install "Orfox; Tor Browser forAndroid, "also from Everyone. Orbot is aproxy that enables access to the Tor net-work, and Orfox a secure browser that usesTor. When you use these, a wi-fi snoop willsee only encrypted packets and won't knowwhere they are going or from where they arecoming. Figure 4 shows the opening Orbotscreen. (While we're considering networks,don't ever set your device up as a portablehotspot, which makes it a server.)

Because of its vulnerability, an Androiddevice is not a safe place to store data. Don'tkeep anything in it, unless its encrypted, thatyou wouldn't write on a post-it stuck to theroof of your car. Encrypt anything sensitive,such as passwords and banking information,and as soon as it's convenient, copy yournew data to a PC. Although it's not a secu-rity issue, be cautious about purchasingcopyrighted items encumbered with DigitalRights Management (DRM) features. Somecan be used only on a single device, whichmeans if your phone is lost or damaged, youalso lose these. See my December 2017 ar-ticle (available at http://www.bcug.com) forsharing data among Android devices andcomputers.

Every app you install adds potential se-curity vulnerabilities, and many consume

resources even when they appear not to berunning. Their icons clutter your screen, mak-ing it difficult to find other apps, and theirfiles fill your storage space. Your device canbecome less usable with each visit to thePlay Store. Google is a large, technically com-petent organization, with procedures that en-sure that Android is a high-quality, secureproduct. However, this isn't necessarily trueof app developers, whose competence is un-known. Google performs security audits onall Playstore apps, and your risk of installingmalware is just 0.05 per cent if download appsfrom only there, compared to an overall in-fection rate of 0.71 per cent. That an app ispopular doesn't mean it's well-designed orsafe. Take a disciplined look at your app col-lection and remove all you don't use regu-larly. This is one of the most important secu-rity measures you can take.

Some apps add considerable risk. Forexample, some checkbook programs requirelinking to a bank account, and anyone nowaccessing your phone could potentially alsoaccess your bank account. If you really needthis feature, you must secure your phonewith a secure password, e.g. one that is longand difficult to guess, which of course willmake using the device less convenient.

If you keep your Android data syncedwith your home computer, you can be ca-sual about backing it up. Nevertheless,backing up may be good insurance if it alsobacks up your installed apps, since if youlose your phone, you could reinstall themon a new one.

Be sure Google Play Protect is oper-ating by going to the Google Play Storeapp, selecting the menu (the icon at theleft of the menu bar), and then Play Pro-

Figure 6. Google Android Device Manager


MUSESCORE IS A FREEWAREproject hosted on SourceForge.it is available for Windows 7 and

up, MacOS 10.7 and up, and Linux andBSD. The URL is https://musescore.org/.

MuseScore uses standard music nota-tion, i.e., treble clef, bass clef, time signa-ture, key signature, quarter notes and soforth. I had a thorough and long-lastingeducation in standard music notation ingrades 2 through 12, so the notation is stillfamiliar to me, decades later.

When I first downloaded and in-stalled MuseScore in 2012, I had oneparticular use in mind. I had a brand newsmart phone, an iPhone 5, and I wantedto compose a ringtone, specifically thefight song of Washington-Lee HighSchool in Arlington, my alma mater. Thesong has been in use for a very long time(W-L started playing football againstGeorge Washington High School in Al-exandria in the late 1920s). I performed itfor two years in the W-L marching bandback in 1969 and 1970, and I have re-membered the melody ever since.

Broadly, MuseScore works somewhatlike a word processor: you can write mu-sic, save and retrieve music files, do ed-its, cut & paste, copy & paste. You canprint your sheet music.

Additionally, MuseScore will playthe music, and it lets you assign voicesto notes. It comes with a considerableassortment of instrument and vocalsound files to use as voices. MuseScorecan play the resulting arrangementthrough your computer speakers. It canalso record the arrangement to an MP3file, which is precisely the file requiredfor Android ringtones, and can recordto the M4A format used by iPhones; youmust change the file extension to M4Rfor an iPhone to recognize the file as aringtone file.

I composed the W-L fight song frommy memory. It involved about 8 measures.I created a bit of harmony, and assigned aflute voice, a trumpet voice, and a tubavoice. Note that, for a ringtone, the lowfrequencies are weak due to the tiny size ofspeakers in the smart phone. It sounded

great on the computer speakers, but thetuba part sounds very weak when thephone rings.

I stay in touch with a dozen or so of my665 high school classmates via phone. I as-signed the ringtone to their incoming calls.

In 2017, I found another interesting usefor MuseScore.

My youngest child's high school hasfor several years offered a crowdsourcedchoir performance in the annual Decem-ber choir concerts. It is called Commu-nity Choir, and its members are teachers,parents, alumni, and anyone else whowants to sing. No course credit or aca-demic grades are involved, just threeevening rehearsals and a performance infront of a big audience, 500+, mostly par-ents and siblings of current choir stu-dents and some families of the Commu-nity Choir adults. The school's choir di-rector chooses three songs for the Com-munity Choir to perform. At the first re-hearsal, he hands out the sheet musicfor the volunteer choir to take home.

In December 2017, I volunteered forCommunity Choir, for several reasons. First,I missed performing music. Second, afterall my experiences in school playing piano,clarinet, oboe and guitar, I had not triedsinging since elementary school; over thedecades I realized that singing was the oneskill I missed the most. Finally, my daugh-ter was about to relocate to Georgia withher husband, so it was my last chance tosurprise her.

When the director handed out the sheetmusic, I decided I would do what I had donefor most of my K-12 years: take it home andpractice. But, unlike with musical instru-ments, I had no idea how to hit the correctpitch for a note on the page.

This is where MuseScore came in handy.I transcribed my parts in the sheet

music into MuseScore. The first twosongs were about 92 measures each, witha lot of repetition that could be realizedfairly rapidly through copy & paste. That

MuseScore: MusicComposition Freeware

By JOHN KROUT

tect; the Scan device for security threatsitem should be turned on. See Figure 5.

This checks apps as you downloadthem and periodically scans your devicefor threats. I don't think other anti-virusprograms are needed. Android is lessvulnerable than Windows, although "lessvulnerable" is not the same as "invul-nerable." If you keep your device syncedwith your home PC, and protect any sen-sitive data with encryption, you haven'tmuch at risk. That an anti-virus vendorwould like to sell you an app doesn'tmean you need one.

If your device is lost, you can useGoogle's Android Device Manager serviceto help you find it and to safeguard its data.Go to http://www.google.com/android/devicemanager and log in with yourGoogle password. The eventual result willbe the screen in Figure 6 (next page).

This shows you the location of yourlost device and gives you the options tohave it make some noise (in case its mis-placed), lock itself (if you expect to get itback), or wipe its memory (if you think it'sgone forever), The last two won't get yourphone back, but they will prevent whoever

has it from using it or accessing your data.Note however, there is no way to unduethe last.

With these few simple precautionsyou can significantly reduce the risks ofusing your Android device. For more in-formation on Android security see http://source.android.com/security/.

DICK MAYBACH is a member, BrookdaleComputer Users' Group, NJ. This article waspublished in the January 2018 issue, BUGBytes (www.bcug.com; n2nd (at) att.net), andis reprinted by permission for APCUGmember groups.

Sound Technology

May 2018


transcription process alone made me veryfamiliar with the structure of each song.Then I assigned a MuseScore male voiceto the notes in each song. I did not includethe lyrics. I just wanted to hear the notes,so I could hit them accurately for practice.

MuseScore played each song, and Isang along by reading the lyrics in the origi-nal sheet music.

It worked. Practice made me a lot moreconfident that I could perform the material.

The school is a combined program in-cluding grades 6 through 12, and I attendedall the concerts while my daughter was a stu-dent there during 2004-2011. For most of thattime, I led a volunteer team of parents thatshot photos, video and recorded audio ofthe concerts, and made DVDs and audio CDsof the concerts for music departmentfundraisers. After my daughter graduated, Icontinued to attend the concerts simply be-cause, with free admission, they are the bestentertainment value in town.

The final song was the Hallelujah Cho-rus from Handel's Messiah. It is both morecomplicated and more familiar. Roughly 116measures, I have heard it performed everyDecember at the school since 2004. It too iscrowdsourced but on a grander scale. Thechoir director not only includes the Commu-nity Choir and all high school choir students,but also invites all choir alumni/ae to comeup and sing, so the group is enormous, liter-ally overflowing the stage.

My first public music performance since1971 happened on December 19, 2017. Itwas fun.

This type of practice at home has its lim-its. I did not transcribe the other voice parts,just the one I was trying to learn. That isimportant. One of the songs was a round(AKA rondo), where the entrance timing isdifferent for soprano, alto, tenor and bass.Hearing all the parts is useful for practicingthe precise rondo entrance points. Likewise,I did not transcribe the accompaniment. Fortwo of the three songs, that was a piano part.

All the parts and the accompanimentwere on the sheet music I was given. I wasnot sure I had time to transcribe all the partsinto MuseScore. Maybe next year.

JOHN KROUT is a former president of WAC,one of the predecessor organizations ofPATACS. John lives across the street from ahouse once occupied by a military familyincluding a young Jim Morrison, who laterbecame the singer for the Doors. One of John'sfavorite photo subjects is performingmusicians. Among those musicians is JormaKakounen of Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna,who once visited John at home. Jormagraduated from Wilson High School in DC;his dad was a career diplomat

This article is published by permis-sion for APGUG member groups.

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