Category: blog

  • TTCS and ISOC-TT Roundtable discussion on the recent Internet Outage on Tuesday December 15 2020 at 7:30pm

    TTCS and ISOC-TT Roundtable discussion on the recent Internet Outage on Tuesday December 15 2020 at 7:30pm

    The Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society and the ISOC Trinidad and Tobago Chapter invite you to a roundtable discussion about the regional Internet outage on December 7 2020.

    The date and time of the roundtable discussion will be held via Zoom on Tuesday December 15 2020 from 7:30pm to 9pm local time.

    Persons at the roundtable include :

    • Kurleigh Prescod – Country Manager/Managing Director at Columbus Communications Trinidad Limited
    • Shernon Osepa – Director, Caribbean Affairs and Development of the Internet Society (ISOC).
    • Rodney Taylor – Director at Data Processing Department – Barbados Government
    • Claire Craig – Enterprise Applications Support Manager The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus

    Zoom Meeting URL : https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81843442925?pwd=amptVDAyTXh6Mm1yZ0d1MUpINllNdz09Meeting Zoom Meeting ID: 818 4344 2925
    Passcode: 976449

    Be sure to update to the latest Zoom client at https://zoom.us/download#client_4meeting and/or if connecting from mobile,
    have the Zoom mobile app for iOS or the Zoom mobile app for Android devices. See you there!

  • 200 computers refurbished and distributed by the Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society

    200 computers refurbished and distributed by the Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society

    The Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society (TTCS) has refurbished and delivered over 200 computers over the past few months to various schools and students to continue education being done online due to COVID-19.

    Working with Restore a Sense of I Can (RSC), we received and refurbished over 170 computers. We have also refurbished and delivered 30 computers directly to students and schools in need using machines, parts and financial donations made directly to the TTCS.

    Refurbishing computers involves several steps :

    • cleaning computers (lots of dust to remove!)
    • testing hardware if it works and troubleshooting when they don’t work ; often CMOS batteries in many machines required replacing
    • installing Solid State Drives – many machines didn’t have hard drives so the TTCS has been using funds donated to TTCS to get such SSDs
    • installing Windows 10 for those computers that could run Windows 10. On other machines, we’ve installed Q4OS , a Linux distro.
    • Installing the latest Windows updates, drivers, BIOS updates and installing some Free and Open Source Software for Windows
    • Delivering computers to RSC and to persons all over Trinidad.

    We want to continue helping students by refurbishing as many computers as we can..here’s how YOU can help :

    Donate computers

    If you have (preferably) working computers, SSDs, memory you’re not using that is less than 10 years old and running either Windows 7, 8, 8.1 or Windows 10, complete the form at
    https://ttcs.tt/donate-computers
    Someone from TTCS will contact you to coordinate pickup.

    Make a financial donation

    If all you can do right now is make a financial donation to this project, we sincerely need and appreciate your support. The TTCS will use such donations to purchase parts to refurbish computers.

    Make a donation to :

    Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society,
    Republic Bank Account #160136544031,
    U.W.I Branch, Trinidad.

    Be sure to email us at [email protected] when you’ve donated so we can acknowledge and thank you!

    Have questions or inquiries?

    Email us at [email protected] !

    Be a part of the Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society

    If you wish to be involved with computer refurbishment or assist with other TTCS projects, sign up at https://ttcs.tt/jointtcs/

  • Trinidad and Tobago Banks rolls out local Linx Visa Debit cards ; offers contactless transactions and online payments to local merchants

    Trinidad and Tobago Banks rolls out local Linx Visa Debit cards ; offers contactless transactions and online payments to local merchants

    Several local banks in Trinidad and Tobago – First Citizens Trinidad and Tobago, RBC Royal Bank, Republic Bank and Scotiabank – are rolling out local Visa Debit cards which offer contactless transactions and local online purchases while still offering the ability to be used at ATMs with the LINX logo and LINX purchases as before.



    Contactless transactions means that you don’t have to enter a PIN at a merchant’s terminal – you bring the card close to the terminal and it gets approved. Different banks offer different limits on the amount of money that could be done via a contactless transaction.

    The newer cards also offers for online payments to local merchants which could be a boon for local e-commerce as more persons with banking accounts can now purchase items and services from local merchants’ websites (or apps).

    Also of note is that most banks will offer card holders either notifications and/or will being able to review transaction details via their banking mobile apps and their online banking websites.

    Check out the various bank websites for more details :

  • Trinidad & Tobago Government removes all taxes on laptops and tablets

    Trinidad & Tobago Government removes all taxes on laptops and tablets

    According to a Tweet by the Honorable Minister of Finance of Trinidad and Tobago, Colm Imbert, the Trinidad and Tobago Government will remove all taxes from “laptops computers, notebook computers and tablet computers.” immediately.

    Taxes on other equipment like “mobile and digital equipment, cell phones, software and accessories” will be removed after the completion of the Budget Debate, in or around December 2020.

  • Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society online call on Monday August 31 2020 at 8:30pm to discuss our computer refurbishing project

    Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society online call on Monday August 31 2020 at 8:30pm to discuss our computer refurbishing project

    The Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society (TTCS ; https://www.ttcs.tt) will be having a online call on Monday August 31 2020 at 8:30pm to discuss our TTCS computer refurbishing project . The goal of our project is, via our partners, to make available computers for school students to continue their education being done online due to COVID-19. The TTCS computer refurbishing project was recently featured in Newsday’s August 13 2020 article “Rescuing computers from digital oblivion”

    The August 31 call will be an update on the computer refurbishing project and some of the challenges to date.

    We will be using Zoom for this conference call.

    Zoom Meeting URL : https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86414258492?pwd=L3dMNldjTHpTeHlLMFRNbmtHVGhvZz09
    Zoom meeting ID : 864 1425 8492

    Please RSVP at [email protected] to get the Zoom password for the call.

    Be sure to update to the latest Zoom desktop client at https://zoom.us/download#client_4meeting and/or if connecting from mobile, have the Zoom mobile app for iOS or the Zoom mobile app for Android devices. See you on the call!

  • TTCS OSSWIN 3.1 available for download – a collection of Free and Open Source Software (#FOSS) for Windows

    TTCS OSSWIN 3.1 available for download – a collection of Free and Open Source Software (#FOSS) for Windows

    The TTCS OSSWIN v3.10, a collection of the latest version of Free and Open Source Software for Microsoft Windows 10/8/7 is available for download with 90+ software – ranging from educational software, Internet applications, Desktop Applications, Sound and Video, Graphics and more! Anyone can download and use the software.

    Apart from many software updates, three programs were added to TTCS OSSWIN 3.1 : (HandBrake, LaunchyQt (with screen video), BleachBit) and one program removed (Launchy)

    Browse TTCS OSSWIN online

    Browse TTCS OSSWIN online at
    https://ttcsosswin.ttcs.tt/

    You can browse TTCS OSSWIN online at https://ttcsosswin.ttcs.tt/ which features the web interface to learn about Free and Open Source programs in various categories, including screenshots or videos of the programs and a link to the program’s website where you can download the program. The web based UI is responsive, meaning it should be usable on non-Windows small screen mobile phones and tablets.

    Download TTCS OSSWIN

    You can download the entire collection of TTCS OSSWIN as a 7GB file for extracting to your harddrive or USB storage device (or burn on a DVD). The TTCS OSSWIN collection provides a link to install the software directly and in the case of a program providing 32 bit and 64 bit versions installers, TTCS OSSWIN attempts to autodetect whether you are running 64 bit Windows and presents that installer first. The web interface and all screenshots and videos are included in the collection so that you can browse and install software on a Windows computer without internet access.

    • Date created : August 11 2020
    • File name : ttcs_osswin_v310.iso
    • File size : 6.88 GB (7,395,319,808 bytes)
    • SHA-256 : F98F15BEF2F0023A29A97C2F6C0ADD4BD3AF3D9B8319ED806181405A95D173DD

    Future work of TTCS OSSWIN

    • Developing a a card like UI (similiar to the current theme of the TTCS website) for the selection of programs in the various categories using best practices in HTML5 and CSS. Still some tweaks to do, but this was a key change
    • Updating the text descriptions of programs. The goal is to strive to describe in the simplest of terms possible what the programs does and to answer “why should I try the program”
    • Replacing static photos with videos of the programs in action.
    • Find Free and Open Source Software for Windows that is useful and easy to use. The curated list of software in TTCS OSSWIN is an attempt to list what is considered the “best” in ease of use and functionality and not to include dozens of programs that do the same thing.

    If you’re interested in assisting with this work or want to give comments and feedback, then send a email to [email protected] .

  • Update on the Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society refurbishing of computers

    Update on the Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society refurbishing of computers

    The Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society (TTCS) has had several calls over the past 2 months discussing how to refurbish computers.
    Among the things done so far:

    • documented procedure for refurbishing computers as we want the refurbished computers by TTCS volunteers to be done to a particular standard
    • developed a inventory system workflow for tracking donors, donated equipment and the refurbished computers
    • collaborating with Restore a Sense of I Can (RSC), a network of secondary school computer/IT clubs which has 10 year old 50 Dell Optiplexes – some Pentium D but many Core2 Duos with 4GB RAM – to date we’ve collected 50+ computers and working on those.
    • put out a public call for donations of computer equipment https://www.ttcs.tt/donate-computer-equipment-for-refurbishing/ and one company has donated 9 computers and other miscellaneous equipment.
    • Several TTCS members have purchased SSDs for these machines.
    • reactivated the TTCS Slack (a group chat solution) room where a lot of the messaging regarding computer refurbishment is taking place.

    However, there are very few volunteers doing the actual refurbishing and we do need funds to purchase things like SSDs and miscellaneous accessories. So, please

  • Donate computer equipment for refurbishing

    Donate computer equipment for refurbishing

    Owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, schools in Trinidad and Tobago have been closed since March 2020. A measure of on-line teaching has been introduced in the education system, but unfortunately, about 60,000 students do not have computers or other devices to access this material.

    The Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society (TTCS ; https://www.ttcs.tt/) has started a project to collect unused computers and related equipment to refurbish computers for students unable to access online teaching.We are asking for your assistance in the form of donations of working computer hardware.

    If you have (preferably working) computers and/or equipment (such as RAM, small SSDs) that are 8 years or newer that you can donate, please complete the form at

    https://www.ttcs.tt/donate-computer-equipment-for-refurbishing/

    You will be contacted by the TTCS to arrange delivery/pickup.If you have any questions or are willing to assist with computer refurbishing, email [email protected]

  • Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society online call on Thursday June 18 2020 at 8:00pm to discuss refurbishing computers

    Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society online call on Thursday June 18 2020 at 8:00pm to discuss refurbishing computers

    The Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society (https://www.ttcs.tt) will be having a online call on Thursday June 18 2020 at 8pm to discuss refurbishing computers. This is a followup call from June 4 2020

    Refurbishing computers is the repairing and restoring of (usually old) computers to a ‘like new’ condition for reuse.

    On the last call on June 4 2020, we decided to focus on three areas :

    • Providing a Helpdesk type solution to allow potential users to request technical support. The idea is for requests to be paired with volunteers able to answer such requests
    • Developing workflow regarding the processing of computers – we have a source of 50 possible computers to recycle and we managed to get a few of them and we’ll share our experiences to date as well as the tracking system developed to date.
    • Providing ways for potential users of refurbished computers to get Internet access

    The June 18 call will be an update on what progress has been made on these areas and on any other issues to consider.

    We will be using Zoom for this conference call.

    Zoom Meeting URL : https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82490270608?pwd=eTFNYkdFcFU1M1hyM1I3RzM1dWlmQT09

    Zoom meeting ID : 824 9027 0608

    Please RSVP at [email protected] to get the Zoom password for the call.

    Be sure to update to the latest Zoom client at https://zoom.us/download#client_4meeting and/or if connecting from mobile,
    have the Zoom mobile app for iOS or the Zoom mobile app for Android devices. See you online!

  • Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society online call on Thursday June 4 2020 at 8:00pm to discuss refurbishing computers

    Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society online call on Thursday June 4 2020 at 8:00pm to discuss refurbishing computers

    The Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society (https://www.ttcs.tt) will be having a online call on Thursday June 4 2020 at 8pm to discuss refurbishing computers. This is a followup call from May 21 2020

    Refurbishing computers is the repairing and restoring of (usually old) computers to a ‘like new’ condition for reuse.

    On the last call on May 21 2020 , we outlined the challenges with refurbishing computers and decided on the following three areas:

    • Providing a Helpdesk type solution to allow potential users to request technical support. The idea is for requests to be paired with volunteers able to answer such requests
    • Developing workflow regarding the processing of computers – we have a source of 50 possible computers to recycle and we managed to get a few of them
    • Providing ways for potential users of refurbished computers to get Internet access

    The June 4 call will be an update on what progress has been made on these areas and on any other issues to consider.

    We will be using Zoom for this conference call.

    Zoom Meeting URL : https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88086564238?pwd=MktVU3VwaGVjLytGZVFGSFdmUFVEUT09
    Zoom meeting ID : 880 8656 4238

    Please RSVP at [email protected] to get the Zoom password for the call.

    Be sure to update to the latest Zoom client at https://zoom.us/download#client_4meeting and/or if connecting from mobile,
    have the Zoom mobile app for iOS or the Zoom mobile app for Android devices. See you online!